Of Monsters And Hunters
by Xen Kenshin
Summary: "Even if you cannot win, please come back." "No matter how hard life gets, never forget who you are." One hunter fights a foe she is not ready for. Another hunter is sent to rescue her. But in the end, will she be the one who saves him? MHFUxMHP3rd
1. Naivete or Courage?

Of Monsters And Humans

_I've had the idea of writing a Monster Hunter fic for a long time now. I had this one particular idea for not as long, but long enough. I more or less have everything, but a title. But who needs one of those, right?!_

_I plan on making this little fic…little. This means no chapter will be longer than fifteen pages. I also plan on using this fic as a means of testing myself; I'll be cutting back on dialogue and a ton of other things that I'm comfortable with as a challenge and improve my writing. But I didn't mean to cut back on a title…_

_Feel free to give title suggestions!_

**Hunt 1 - Naiveté Or Courage?**

Hardened pink scales glistening in the sunlight, the brazen creature made its way towards its destination. A mane of flowing blue hair trailing from its shoulders, and a gruesome look in its eyes made those weary for the female's safety second-guess their judgment. There were whispers, thoughts, assumptions of weakness; a single disapproving growl from its throat, also protected by the expertly hardened scales of a Yian Kut-Ku, silenced those doubts.

But three pairs of eyes trained on the woman dressed in the accented armor of the well-known bird wyvern. The first pair of eyes was that of an animal; a cat with white fur and wearing a cloak composed of something that looked like animal fur and wicker. The cat, known as Nekoht, rubbed one of its whiskers and shook its head. It knew that the huntress was far from ready to fight against such a _foe_. But it also knew that once this huntress set her mind to something, even an opponent as large and ferocious as this _foe _wouldn't be able to stop her. Still…

The second pair of eyes spotted her the minute she walked down the gentle slope just outside of her mountain home. She stopped in front of the man who stood there, arms crossed in a comfortable display of strength that had not yet waned. And covered a heart that ached for the young female as though she were of his own blood. The two exchanged a look; he had known the young huntress since she was knee high, and as such, knew that nothing he could say could deter her from goal of hunting that _foe_. The _foe _that he knew all too well…

The huntress made her silent way past her mentor, not giving his form a second glance – but not out of fear or spite, but out of confidence – and continued towards Nekoht. The cat's eyes left the blue haired huntress and fell upon the only person who stood a chance of convincing this huntress to reconsider her potentially fatal action. That person was an old, hobbled over elderly woman with round spectacles and a brown shawl thrown over her shoulders bearing a whicker like design. She prodded the roaring fire with her walking stick; the cold made her joints ache like crazy so saying warm was a priority.

But even the worst pain in her joints could not match her aching heart as the huntress stopped beside her. With a sigh mixed of effort and a sense of dreadful finality, the elderly woman looked up at the huntress. While she wore the armor of the pink bird wyvern Yian Kut-Ku, on her back was a massive great sword constructed from the internal organs and skin of the pale beast – a Khezu.

"Granny," the huntress began, her voice deep and exotic. 'Granny' was how this elderly woman, the chief of Pokke Village, was addressed by all; even by the foreign hunters who passed through from time to time, or came to the village's aid in dire times of crisis. But to this huntress, the title of 'granny' was one earned by kinship. "I'm ready." Granny looked at the Khezu Shock Sword on her granddaughter's back, and then into her unwavering eyes.

"I see you've studied up on your intended target." Granny spoke, her eyes now on the flame. As she watched the flames eat away at the wood gathered by the helpful people of Pokke, she sensed an even stronger flame burning in the huntress beside her. "And you've even gone and made a weapon that takes advantage of its weakness…"

The huntress huffed gently; she was all too used to her grandmother's tone. She had heard it growing up countless times, and knew that Granny would try to make her change her mind. Still, she remained silent as Granny pushed another split log into the flame. The wood splintered, and for a time, only the sound of cackling wood filled the vacant air dampened by the grim situation on the horizon.

"I know there's no stopping you," Granny finally spoke after some time. The huntress let out another huff, this one of surprise. "You were always quite the stubborn one growing up." Granny chuckled in her all too familiar 'ho ho' sound. "And you'll continue to be stubborn until the end of your days." The comment made the huntress' mood falter, but not her heart.

"I just…" Granny looked away from the flame and up at her grandchild. Beyond those glistening pink scales, Granny could see a pair of blue eyes looking back at her. "Don't want today to be the end of your days." Nekoht, who had been listening intently due to his feline hearing and own emotional attachment to the huntress, cleared his throat in a vain attempt to keep his eyes from getting watery.

The huntress, who had been so caught up in combating her _foe _and preparing for this encounter, finally understood why everyone had been trying to convince her to do otherwise. She removed her helmet; her long, blue hair kept together in a ponytail falling down the back of her armor, and crouched low next to her grandmother. She placed a gloved hand on Granny's shoulder and smiled at her lovingly.

"I know everyone thinks that I can't handle this," she began, addressing the largely unspoken issues at hand. Aside from those closest to her, no one dared to say that the one and only hunter of Pokke Village, the little girl they all helped raise, wasn't prepared for such a _foe_. At least, not to her face, for fear of having the reverse effect and persuading her to go sooner to what looked like her own demise.

"And..." She continued on hesitantly. "I'll even admit that at first, I took it as everyone looking down at me," At that, Granny couldn't help but smile; she was always so aware of her surroundings, her granddaughter. "But now I understand that everyone doesn't want me to risk my life; especially not up against-"

"But you are a hunter," Granny interrupted. "And hunters risk their lives every day." Granny had heard the line too many times to count.

"Yeah," the huntress gave a small, methodic laugh. "But what I was going to say was that so long as _it's _around, all of our lives are at risk, Granny. That's why I have no choice _but _to beat it."

Granny sighed and looked back into the fire. "I know…" She spoke in a whisper. "We all do." She inhaled deeply and continued strongly: "But while fear is a very powerful thing that can paralyze us, do not let that fear drive you into doing something reckless and losing your life."

"Grandmother…" She spoke with absolution. "The only thing that I fear right now is how everyone will react when I bring its head to the town square." The huntress moved her hand from Granny's shoulder and placed it on her chin. "I think it may scare the children too much…"

An exaggerated huff left Granny's lips. "Stubborn and irrational." When her granddaughter gave her a scolding look, Granny smiled gently and continued, "I've said my part. And we both know you're not going to turn back."

"I'm not." The huntress said, donning her helmet and standing up.

"You have all of your potions?" Granny began, retrieving a small parchment from beneath her cloak.

"Yes." Kinaia didn't bother to check. "And mega potions, too, before you ask."

"And your hot drinks?" Granny continued. "As well as the ancient potion I gave you a while back?"

"Yes." Kinaia spoke, becoming a bit anxious.

"I hope that you've also got on an extra pair of socks and stockings-"

"Granny!" Kinaia grumbled. "I'm well prepared! I've even brought a little extra to ensure I don't run out of supplies!"

"Stubborn," Granny lifted a finger. "Irrational," she lifted a third finger. "And impatient." Granny 'tsked' and shook her head. "When you return, we're going to need to have a serious discussion about your attitude, Kinaia." Granny extended her small arm, handing over the piece of parchment she had retrieved from her inner pocket.

Kinaia was about to object, but then she felt the fierce look in her grandmother's eyes. But even behind their ferocity, Kinaia could sense the worry. Kinaia looked down at the parchment. On it, were the details of the quest she had just accepted. As she rolled it closed, she noticed a bit of ink bleeding though on the opposite side. She flipped the parchment over and read what she instantly recognized as her grandmother's handwriting.

"_Even if you cannot win, please come back."_

Kinaia stared at the piece of parchment for a few seconds before rolling it up and tucking it away into her armor. She bent down once more and gave her grandmother a kiss on the forehead, as she always did before she left the village – as her grandmother always did to her when before she left the village – and set out to the Snowy Mountain tops that Pokke Village was famous for.

Granny watched, as the pink armor's glisten gradually got further and further away. She retrieved a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped a tear from her eye. She then passed the handkerchief to Nekoht, who by now, was a slobbering mess of tears.

"Be safe, Kinaia."

_**Two Days Later…**_

It was a bright and sunny day. People were moving about, hustling and bustling as they carried on with their day-to-day lives. Living within a mountain valley may sound difficult to some, but to the people of Yukumo village, the mountains were their home. The blacksmith hammered away at a red-hot sword as the hunter who had commissioned it watched with anticipation. A group of feline creatures, appropriately known as Felynes, made their way through the market carrying various items as they spoke in their own sandpaper dialect.

The hunter's guildhall, which over looked the entire village from its perch at the top of the groove of the valley, on the other hand, was loud and lively with the ruckus of angry hunters.

"What do you mean 'my request can't be fulfilled?" One hunter, adorned in vicious and sharp looking blue armor of a crustacean and a matching Lance. "I said I want to go home this instant! I don't care how many carts you _don't _have; find one going to Loc Lac and take me home today!"

"Shut yer mouth!" A woman, armed to the teeth in what looked like fangs and claws on her body and a larger claw on her back. "Some of us are trying to have a drink in peace!"

"Come on!" A younger voice pleaded. "Take me with you!"

"Your hunter rank is too low!" Replied an older hunter. "Just look at the stamp on your guild card!"

At the guild counter, beside the two maidens who were busy trying to calm down the grumpy hunters, sat a man adorned in yellow clothes and drinking directly from a bottle of alcohol. He sneered at the hunters gathered there; they were all either a bunch of pretentious low-grade hunters who paired up and used dirty tactics to hunt monsters, a miserable bottom feeders trying to get recruited by more experienced –at least in terms of time- hunters so that they could later one-up them.

Where had all the good hunters gone? He wondered, as he chugged his drink. He parted the glass and his lips, and stared at the now empty bottle. With a hiss of anger, he glared at the bottle – and saw the reflection of a lone figure walking into the guildhall from behind him. The man grinned internally, happy that there was at least still _one _good hunter, whom he personally knew was great at what he did.

The figure was tall, dark and as silent as the monster whose armor he wore. The armor was all black, aside from the occasional red and orange accents. The eyes were outlined with red material, reminiscent of the creature when it was enraged. His steps were swift and silent; hardly anyone noticed him as he stepped out of the extension that connected his home and the guildhall. He slipped past the hunters clogging up the hall, and he and the not-drunk-at-all man exchanged glances.

The man in the black armor nodded, the smell of alcohol faint but fresh in his nostrils, and made his way to the counter. He saw a large man in blue shell armor, arguing with the counter maiden, but just as he stepped up, the man turned his back to the woman.

"Feh," the man began, looking dead at the man in the black armor. "Don't even bother trying. Apparently, the guild is experiencing some kind of paperwork build-up or whatever, and there are no outgoing carts." The man crossed his arms and spoke all too loudly. "Stupid guildhall can't sort out external requests!" A few of the other hunters who were present turned their attention to the shell-man and now with audience, he continued to goad.

"Yukumo Village is soooo busy trying to get back on the map, they can't even take care of themselves!" He then laughed; the man in the black armor assumed the laugh was supposed to be big and intimidating, but thought the shell-man sounded like an Apotonoth going through hard labor.

"Trying to get back on the map?" The younger hunter from earlier asked no one in particular. "What?"

"You really _are _a newbie if you haven't heard," the shell-man remarked. A few people were surprised that he heard anything over his own laugh. "Don't you know that this Guildhall was the first guildhall to officially instate a branch known as the 'Hunter-Hunters'?"

"Hunter…hunters?" The young hunter repeated. "Aren't they-"

"They are the hunters who are too **scaaaaared** to face wyverns, and instead go on quests to find the idiot hunters who got too full of themselves." He laughed his irritating laugh again before saying "If they were real hunters, they wouldn't have gotten lost in the first place." He then leaned forward to the younger hunter and pulled him close. The younger hunter visibly cringed at the spikes on the shell-man's armor.

"Besides," Shell-man sneered. "Nine times out of ten, they hardly make it back themselves – and all they have to show or it are the scraps the wyvern left for the Jaggi!" He began to laugh again, pausing only when the young hunter didn't join in.

"Excuse me," Both shell-man and the nervous younger hunter stopped laughing. They looked up at the man in black armor with vacant expressions. "You're in my way." The man in black armor watched as the shell-man looked him up and down.

"That's some fine Nargacuga armor…" he admired. "But like I said, there's no available quests at the moment." The shell man then relinquished the young hunter – by throwing him to the floor – and extended a hand to the black-clad man. "But why don't you and I team up once this pathetic guild hall sorts itself-"

The black clad man pushed shell-man's hand aside. Shell-man, himself stumbled a bit from the unexpected force. "No." The black-clad man spoke coldly. His attention now to the maiden, he presented to her his hunter's guild card. "Here you go, Sasayu." The maiden examined the hunter with a confused look for a few seconds, wondering how he knew her name. She took one look at his guild card, and her face lit up.

"Well, I hardly recognized you!" She laughed. "I see you finally got that armor you wanted so badly made."

"With the Gunlance, to boot!" The man in yellow added, a new bottle nearly done. The man remained silent as the maiden looked through some scrolls.

"Why you…" Shell-man grumbled. "You've got some nerve-"

"Sorry," The maiden spoke up louder. "But there's nothing available, even for you, Xevach." She quickly covered her mouth, squeaking out a small 'oops'.

All heads in the guildhall turned to the man standing at the counter.

"Don't worry about it, Sasayu." The man dubbed Xevach spoke in voice heavy with bass. "On either account." He turned around and proceeded to walk out of the guild.

"Either…?" The counter maiden the understood what he had meant; Xevach knew that it wasn't her fault that there were no available guild quests at the moment. She then frowned; but it was her fault that she had mentioned his name – and with it, just who he was.

"So, that's Xevach?" Shell-man sneered. "The so-called best Hunter-Hunter in the business?"

The woman draped in fangs let out a very harsh laugh. "I guess he's the best Hunter-Hunter…" She downed her beer then stood up swiftly. "Now."

"Now?" The young hunter asked, apparently the only one out of the loop.

"Yup." The woman walked to the counter and paid for her drinks.

Shell-man scoffed. "You can't be that good if you're the 'best' by default."

"Default?" The young hunter looked around. Apparently, only the hunter wearing the blue shell armor, and the huntress wearing the fangs would speak about this topic, as the rest of the guild fell into a hushed state.

"Remember when I said that Yukumo Village was trying to get back on the map?" At the young hunter's nod, the shell-man continued. "And how this was the first guildhall to instate Hunter-Hunters as a guild operated force?"

"Didn't you say branch?"

"Duh," shell-man spat. "And the branch was going to be guild operated. The Hunter-Hunters even got their own Guild Card emblem."

"Well, what happened?" The young hunter asked naïvely. Even shell-man fell quiet for once.

"No one knows." The fang-armored woman took this moment to speak. "No one but him."

"What?" The young hunter looked at the fang-armored woman.

"He was the only survivor." Shell-man sounded solemn, a huge change from his usually annoying and arrogant tone.

"Of what?!" The young hunter looked at shell-man.

"Only he knows…" Fang-woman spoke with a shrug. "But after whatever happened, happened, he requested that the guild postpone the founding and funding of Hunter-Hunters."

"Isn't that like…illegal?" The newbie hunter asked. "Aren't hunters supposed to report everything back to the guild?"

"Not Hunter-Hunters." Fang-woman explained. "As they were a special branch, certain rules didn't apply to them."

"And since he's technically the _only _Hunter-Hunter, he's the only one who gets those benefits."

"So…then…when you said nine out of ten times, Hunter-Hunters barely come back alive, and with little more than scraps-"

"That's usually because he's the only one who's on the job in the first place." Fang-woman surmised.

"But, there are special units designed to look for lost hunters! Not to mention the Felyne-"

"They weren't enough at one point." Shell-man picked up. "A while ago, due to a sudden migration of monsters foreign to Yukumo Village, there was a huge increase of hunters. Soon, there weren't enough scouting parties and Felynes to go around."

"Which was why," Fang-woman summarized. "Yukumo was so quick to try and adopt Hunter-Hunters as an official guild branch."

"Wow…" the newbie stared after the long gone Xevach. "So he still tries to go and find people?"

Fang-woman shook her head. "Not since he placed the request to postpone the HH."

"HH?" The newbie swiftly got it. "Hunter-Hunters."

"Still," Shell-man turned back to the counter maiden. "Every now and again, the village chief asks him to track down a missing hunter, or even a prowling wyvern or two."

"But…he can't like being a Hunter-Hunter if he wants to disband the branch."

"He's never turned her down." Fang-woman began to make her own exit. "Nor has he tried to disband the branch."

"What?" The newbie shook his head, confused.

"Some say that he wants to keep Hunter-Hunter privileges for himself. Others say that he thinks no one else is good enough to become a Hunter-Hunter. Some even go as far as saying that he slaughtered the other HH's himself, and helps the village chief as a way to prevent any suspicion."

"Those all sound heavy…" The newbie shuddered. "Why does he really do it?"

Shell-man and Fang-woman looked at one another from across the room, then at the newbie before both said: "Only he knows…"

_Kinaia belongs to my good buddy SeraphimScourge. _


	2. Selfishness or Selflessness?

**Of Monsters And Humans**

_I'm contemplating doing double-updates. By that I mean two chapters per update. Mathematically speaking it's possible, as I typically type thirty plus pages for a single chapter…_

_Feedback?_

**Hunt 2 – Selfishness or Selflessness?**

"Please, help us!" The middle aged man tried again, but to no avail. That was the tenth hunter to just turn him down. Some didn't bother hearing him out. Others said that he had to fill in a guild request. The others charged way too much money, and he had already spent most of his savings traveling to the distant village.

"Damn…" He hissed under his breath as he trotted down the stairs leading to the guild. "This guild is already so backed up as it is, so my request wouldn't be answered until it was too late… And she…" It was then, that the middle-aged man noticed the woman with extremely pale skin and dressed in an elegant kimono sitting near the edge of the stairs to the guildhall on a plush, velvet bench.

One look at her pointy ears, and he knew exactly who she was.

He moved to her with haste, mindful as not coming off as disrespectful or desperate. He was only the latter. "Hello!" He called out to her. She looked in his direction, and smiled at him.

"Hello, and good afternoon!" She responded politely. Inside, the man felt his stomach go weak; he had been begging for help all morning? "How are you today, traveler?"

"Ah," he began, speaking humbly. "A wise village chief, indeed, to recognize that I am not from around here." He bowed to her gracefully.

"I suppose so," She spoke with a hint of humor in her voice. "But it was more of an observation." The man's confused look told the village chief that she had lost him. "You're attire is that for the cold, and no one dares to live in the Tundra area of this region."

The man let out a hearty laugh. "Guilty as charged, then. I hail from the Village of Pokke."

"Pokke Village?!" The village chief repeated with pleasant surprise. "Why, I haven't spoken to Granny in ages!"

"You know Granny?!" The man's incredulity disrupted his formal ensemble.

"Why, of course!" The village elder patted the seat beside her. "All village chiefs know one another to some extent. You come tell me how my favorite Granny is doing." She then added playfully. "Just don't tell my _real _grandmother I said that." She winked at the man as he sat beside her.

"O-of course not." The man stuttered. While Granny was revered as the Chief of Pokke Village, she felt much more like everyone's grandmother – apparently even to another Village chief. Still, meeting another village chief who seemed so…down to earth was a bit of a new experience. Then again, he had never met another village chief before, so what could he have expect?

"Do tell me how Granny is doing. Is that pretentious cat still hanging around her?"

"Nekoht?" The village chief nodded. "Pretentious?" The man laughed. "Why, that's just an act he puts on. Nekoht is really a soft, little pussycat."

"I figured as much." The village chief laughed. "What of Granny's daughter, 'Little Granny'?" The man's humorous mood quickly vanished. "Why, I remember meeting her for the first time," The village chief continued, unaware of the man's downcast face. "She hated that I called her 'Little Granny', especially since Granny was smaller than her!"

The village chief noticed that she was the only one laughing.

"What happened?" She asked, her tone low and somber, sensing the sadness coming from her new guest.

"There was…a wyvern attack." The man had to say no more.

"Oh no…" The village chief covered her mouth. "I'm so sorry."

"No…it's okay." The man smiled at her. "It's nice to know that she had such loving friends…" He then added after a beat. "And why she punched me when I asked why Granny called her 'Little Granny'."

A small smile formed on the lips of the village chief. It was a sad smile just the same. Something then dawned on her. "But…Granny's daughter was the hunter tied to Pokke Village. With her gone, who has picked up the torch?"

With a second wind, and a swelling of pride, the man answered. "It was I who followed in Granny's daughter's footsteps."

"Oh ho!" The village chief clapped, attracting the attention of a few passersby's. "And I'm sure you did a fine job!"

All of the pride in his chest rapidly deflated. "I did…" He spoke darkly. "Until…the wyvern returned." Before the village chief could say anything, he finished. "But no one was lost. There were…injuries…" His words hung heavy for a moment. "Some, that will never heal, but we were alive."

"That's great." The village chief's keen hearing picked up that the guild had gotten strangely quiet…

"And, more importantly, Kinaia was safe."

"Kinaia?" The village elder asked.

"Little Granny's daughter."

"My, what a beautiful name!" She clasped her hands together. "How old is she?!"

"Eighteen."

"Oh my," The village elder exclaimed. "I'm sure she's quite the young woman."

"Quite the young huntress." He corrected, his pride returning. "I trained her myself."

"And a strong and proud village to back her, and a wise mentor."

"You humble me too much, village chief." The man blushed nonetheless. "Actually, Kinaia is the reason why I'm here today."

By the grim tone of his voice alone, the village elder knew to brace herself for the worst.

"Two days ago, she went off to fight a wyvern…"

"Is it the same…?" The village elder had to ask.

"Possibly." The mentor sighed heavily. "But…she doesn't know the full extent of its power."

"Has she returned?" The village elder already knew the answer to that question. "Is there any hope of her returning?"

"Knowing Kinaia," the mentor spoke with a confident smirk that did not seem native to him. "Yes. But…she may be too injured to make the trip alone."

"And no doubt you've heard about the Hunter-Hunters here in Yukumo Village."

"How did you-"

"Why else would you come here, of all places, and in two days' time?" The mentor simply stared at her. "Guild protocol states that a hunter must be missing for at least three days."

"So then, you can help Kinaia?" His voice was full of hope.

"Sadly…" The mentor had never imagined such a depressed tone could escape the beautiful woman's lips. "We have our own issues at the moment, one of them being the postponement of the Hunter-Hunters."

"Who would postpone such a helpful organization?!" The mentor was clearly filled with rage.

"Him." She pointed past the mentor. Immediately, he turned around and saw a man dressed in armor as black as night entering a house just across from the village elder's seat.

"Why would he…" The mentor couldn't get over his anger; he had come all this way just for one man to prevent him from saving Kinaia?

"He's the last of the Hunter-Hunters," the village chief explained. "During one quest, there was…well, all you need to know is that he is the remaining one of twenty."

"One of _**twenty?!**_" The mentor gasped. "What kind of beast could eliminate nineteen elite hunters? What beast would require _**twenty **_hunters at one time?!"

"That…I cannot say. He has told me in complete faith, and me alone. And I'm sure there is a lot more to what happened than what he has told me."

"P-please…" The mentor began.

"There's no need." The village elder then pointed behind herself. "I've already decided to have Xevach aid your village in its search for Kinaia."

"You have?!" The mentor felt tears swell up in his eyes; he didn't notice the black dot coming closer to him and the chief.

"Of course," she explained. "Granny's grand child must be found." The village chief then rotated around to face a black feline that was approaching her. "Why, hello there!"

The black feline wore red armor that the mentor recognized as the hide of a Rathalos. "Good afternoon, nya!" It greeted her. "Who's that?"

"Scorpion," she addressed the feline. "This is a friend of mine from Pokke Village."

"Friend?" Both he and Scorpion spoke at the same time.

"Any friend of Granny's and her children is a friend of mine." The chief smiled gently.

"And any friend of Chief-nya is a friend of mine! I'm Scorpion."

"You may call me Bahr." The two bowed to one another. "But I'm better known as Pokke Village's mentor."

"Bahr-nyan, from Pokke Village!" Scorpion raised a paw in a second greeting. "Pleased to meet-nya!" Scorpion then turned his attention to the chief. Bahr noticed the weapon on the cat's back; it was jet-black, just like the Hunter-Hunter's armor.

"Wait!" Bahr stood up abruptly. "You're a Felyne!"

"Yeah, and nya?"

"You're wearing wyvern armor…and you have a Nargacuga weapon!"

"You think the colors clash, too, nya?" Scorpion checked his back. "I thought my fur would fix that, nya…"

The chief laughed. "Scorpion…what I think he means is that Pokke has yet to master the art of making armor for Felyne Comrades."

"Nya?!" Scorpion looked from the chief to Bahr. "You have my cousins fighting wyverns in Acorn Mail? That's not suitable for most monsters, nya!"

"I'm not the blacksmith!" Bahr retaliated.

"Boys, calm down." The chief interjected. "Scorpion, please tell Xevach that I have another request for him, will you?" Scorpion saluted her and waddled past. He then stopped, and ran back the way he came. Bahr watched as the feline hopped across the wooden bridge to a large crate in the distance. He waved, and three more cats began to push the cart as he pulled.

"Bringing in more spoils, Scorpion?" The chief asked once he was within earshot.

"I know you said keep it all on the farm, nya, but the newbie here was in charge of navigating." Scorpion gestured to a white colored Felyne dressed in…Acorn Mail.

"I'm sorry, nya," her voice was soft. "I didn't mean-"

"You got us back here, right?" Spoke a red-spotted Felyne wearing armor unknown to Bahr.

"Barely." Spoke a green Felyne in what looked like armor made from ore.

"Keep moving!" Scorpion ordered. "Boss is waiting for these supplies. And he has another request from the Chief-nya."

"You heard 'im!" Spoke the brown Felyne. "Boss is heading out on Chief-nya's orders!" Bahr watched in amazement as the four cats worked in tandem to pull the cart into the house he saw the Nargacuga wearer enter earlier.

"So…his name is Xevach?" Bahr looked back at the village chief.

"Please, Bahr," She began. "This is a very delicate situation. Do us both a favor and say nothing until I instruct you otherwise."

"O-of course." Bah respected the severity of the situation. Besides…Kinaia's life depended on it.

They waited for a few moments, and after a while, a tall, dark man walked out of the house. His armor removed and dressed casually, Bahr still sensed the air of a hunter around him. The toned body was also a dead giveaway. He made a beeline for the village chief, glancing at the strange man beside her only once.

"How are you doing today, Xevach?" She asked him politely. Immediately, Xevach's eyes darted to Bahr.

"I refuse." He spoke with finality.

"Oh, right. You don't like others knowing your business." She then turned to Bahr and uttered, "Bahr, pretend as though you aren't here, okay?"

Bahr looked between the chief and the Hunter-Hunter, Xevach. He blinked, clearly at a loss, but nodded for Kinaia's sake. "That means turn around, Bahr. And cover your ears. Oh, and hum me Pokke's tune!" Bahr looked at the chief incredulously, but one glance at Xevach proved that no progress would be made until he did as instructed.

And hum he did. Granny would have been proud that he knew the Pokke theme so well.

"You know I don't help people." Was the first thing out of Xevach's mouth. Bahr couldn't help but think Xevach had said it loud enough for him to hear specifically.

"You're not helping a person," the chief spoke in a low tone. "You're helping me." Xevach looked at Bahr's back, the skepticism boring a hole in the unfortunate man's spine. "He's just here to guide you to Pokke Village."

"Pokke?" Xevach took a second. "The mountain village with all the snow?"

"That's the one."

"They have a guild there. Tell him to ask them for help."

"He has," the village chief lied. "But Pokke is so small, and they can't offer much-"

"Pokke quartz is rare. They should be able to surmount enough." Xevach saw through part of the lie.

"It's always something with you, isn't it?" The chief pouted. "Here's the truth; Granny's granddaughter, Kinaia, went missing two days ago-"

"Granny?"

"Don't interrupt me!" The chief scolded. "And Granny and I have a rather pleasant history."

"And any friend of Chief-nya's is a friend of ours!" Both the village chief and Xevach looked down at Scorpion. He, too, had shed his armor. "So, when do we leave for Pokke, nya?"

"Scorpion…" Xevach growled.

"Xevach," the chief began, stating that only Xevach was to depart. "Leaves right now."

"What?" Three different voices chimed in. Xevach looked at Bahr.

"The theme ended." He spoke innocently. He then looked down at Scorpion. "When did you get back?"

"Why were you humming?" Scorpion then looked between the chief and Xevach. "Oh."

"I refuse." Xevach turned away from the chef and began walking home.

"Xevach!" She called out.

"By tomorrow he can file a guild report. Scorpion, we have work." Xevach's tone never changed.

"Righty-nya, boss!" Scorpion waved at the chief. "Sorry, Chief-nya!" He galloped after Xevach.

"Xevach, please!" Xevach stopped in his tracks. "The mountains are cold and dangerous -!"

"Who told you to speak?!" The chief hissed.

"Who gave you permission to address me?" Xevach shot darkly. "If you want Kintama or whatever back, find her yourself."

"I…I can't!" Bahr shouted. "I'm a retired hunter, but even if I wanted to…I can't." He took a step forward. "But you _can!_ I may be retired, but I know strong hunters when I see them, and you're the strongest one I've ever seen!"

"Flattery won't help, nya…" Scorpion shook his head.

"We can pay you!" Bahr tried a different approach. "Just let me know how much you-"

"He doesn't care about money much, nya." Scorpion informed Bahr. "Besides, we're pretty well off."

"Would you really leave a fellow human being on their own, to freeze to death?! And a woman, no less?!"

"…nya?" Scorpion looked up at Xevach. "It's a girl, boss!"

"She's a hunter." Xevach shot back.

"And hunters can take care of themselves, right?" The village chief spoke casually, but everyone knew there was more too it. Xevach huffed; clearly she had struck a nerve.

"Sometimes they can't!" Bahr didn't relent. "You of all people should know that!"

"What?" Xevach turned around to face Bahr.

"Uh-oh, nya…" Scorpion went prone and covered his head.

Xevach looked from Bahr to the chief.

"He already knew." She began.

"About the Hunter-Hunters," he asked coldly. "Or about me?"

"Xevach-" The village chief began.

"I refuse." Xevach walked off. He only took a few steps before he heard footsteps right behind him. Xevach turned around, and Bahr slid to the ground beneath him, curled into a bow. His forehead hit the ground with a thud, but it did not seem to deter the man.

"Please!" Bahr begged, sounding as though he were crying. "I'm in no condition to do it myself, because if I were, believe me…" Bahr sobbed. "I'd be in those mountains this very minute searching for Kinaia..."

Scorpion rose up, looking from Bahr to Xevach, then from Xevach to the chief.

"You're a Hunter-Hunter, Xevach," Bahr didn't see the scowl on Xevach's face at the mention of the title. "And whether you like it or not, you have the skills to find her. So please, I'm begging you; find Granny's grandchild – the pride of Pokke Village! Our one and only Hunter, the one who made sure we could all rest easy at night! The little girl who I trained since she was big enough to carry a Sword and Shield…"

Bahr was nothing but tears at this moment, but somehow found the strength to scream at the top of his lungs "The daughter of the woman I loved is out there, and while I know she can take care of herself, the wyvern she faces is no match for her! I know this because I trained her – but she left much too early for such a _foe_!"

"She's your only hunter?" Scorpion looked back at Xevach. "Nya, Boss that means if she's gone they're totally unprotected!"

"Not my problem." Xevach shrugged it off.

"Are you really that heartless?" Xevach looked at the village chief. "Is the hunter that _I _raised going to neglect saving someone?!"

"She's probably already-"

"NO!" Bahr interrupted Xevach. "She's not!" He lifted his head, dirt on his brow, and stared Xevach in the eyes. "I can feel it. She's alive, but she's fighting for her life."

"Boss, nya… c'mon."

Xevach looked down at Scorpion. "We don't even know which wyvern it is. Or where she could be. The mountains are huge."

"Those sound like excuses, Xevach." The chief stared right back at Xevach. "Are you…scared?" She spoke the last word while looking away.

"Please… I'm begging you…" Bahr sniffed. "I'll do anything to get Kinaia back."

"Then do it yourself." Xevach looked down at Bahr with a distasteful expression. Bahr grit his teeth, but could not respond. He dropped his head down again and began to openly weep.

"You were my only hope…" Bahr whispered. Xevach stared down at Bahr; Scorpion noticed Xevach's eyes widen for a moment.

"So you noticed, Xevach?" Xevach's eyes snapped to the chief. Her eyes wavered down to Bahr for a millisecond, as did Xevach's. "Exactly **why **he can't go search for Kinaia himself?"

"Tch…" Xevach turned on his heel and walked to his home. He pushed the door open and stepped in.

"_We help people, Raphion. It's what we do as Hunters, and as human beings."_

Xevach paused at his door. Scorpion bumped into his leg, and rolled backwards. "Nya?!" Xevach glanced over at Bahr and the chief. He shook his head, then uttered something under his breath. Scorpion's ears perked up, as did the village chief's, and both smiled. Scorpion stood up and ran to Bahr's side. He patted the crying man's shoulder, and when Bahr looked up, Scorpion spoke with a toothy, Felyne grin:

"The Boss says you'd better be ready to leave before sunset, nya!"

_I'm intentionally lacking detailed explanations of appearances and some other things for a couple of reasons; the main one being that there's a very detailed wiki for Monster Hunter. So, if you'd like to see what the NPCs look like, go ahead and look them up!_


	3. Negligence Intentional or Accidental?

**Of Monsters And Humans**

**Hunt 3 – Negligence; Accidental, or Intentional?**

Xevach sat on the back of a wagon being pulled by a Gagua, his back to the Felyne chauffeuring the large bird. His eyes were closed as he pretended to sleep. Anything, to avoid conversation with the grinning middle aged man in front of him named Bahr.

Bahr, on the other hand, was full of anticipation and could not focus on anything that didn't involve getting back to Pokke Village, and then aiding Xevach's in any way possible. Bahr was going through a mental list in his head of all the things he needed to tell Xevach regarding the quest:

'(She's roughly my height, so she'd come up to his shoulder. Her hair is long and blue, she has a very unique voice…and she's wearing Yian Kut-Ku armor; its pink full body armor with a green sash around the waist. She carries a gray great sword, and would most likely have made a camp by now…)'

Bahr calmed his mind for a moment, double checking his description and contemplating the…_other _details of this search and rescue mission. '(If he were to find out the kind of _foe _Kinaia set out to face…would he retract his offer?)' Bahr suddenly began to feel sick to his stomach. '(Is Xevach even **capable **of facing the wyvern…? Perhaps, in my moment of desperation, I figured it best to leave some details out in order to increase the odds of him agreeing to aid Kinaia…)'

"_We don't even know which wyvern it is." _Bahr remembered Xevach explaining the same detail to Scorpion. Bahr bit his lower lip; a part of him felt terrible for keeping information from Xevach – especially when Xevach was putting his life in such great danger at the request of his village chief, no less. The sick feeling in his stomach became greater when he imagined the possibility of Xevach losing his life **because **he didn't know which wyvern was in the area.

'(All he as to do,)' Bahr rationalized to himself. '(Is find Kinaia, and get her out of there. That's it.)' The thought gave him little solace, as he knew that things never went exactly as planned for hunters. '(But even if he… no, **when **he finds Kinaia, will she be willing to cooperate with Xevach?)' Bahr had never thought of that before; Kinaia was a smart girl, he was sure, but she could be so stubborn at times, but for all the right reasons and intentions. Bahr then considered another variable:

How would Kinaia feel, knowing that her own mentor begged a foreigner to go rescue her?

"I do hope you're not having doubts." Bahr nearly jumped out of the cart, startled by Xevach's voice. "Because we're still close enough to Yukumo village for me to walk back with no problems."

Bahr gulped; how could Xevach, who now watched him closely, have sensed his inner turmoil? "Of course not," Bahr cleared his throat. "Kinaia's life hangs in the balance-"

"Mine does too," Xevach retorted. "And you've still yet to tell me which wyvern she went off to slay." Xevach narrowed his eyes at the nervous look on Bahr's face, but Bahr still did not crack. "Fine then." Xevach closed his eyes once more. "But remember this; the more I know, the better the chances of Kinaia coming home." After a beat, Xevach added darkly; "Alive."

Bahr grit his teeth, but remained silent. He grunted in anger, at himself, at the situation, and closed his own eyes to try and remain calm. For some reason, the meeting between himself, Xevach, Scorpion and the village Chief of Yukumo Village came to mind.

"_I'll be heading out immediately, as you said." Xevach spoke to his chief as he packed some essential items. "Scorpion, in order to save time, I'll be going as is."_

"_Nya?!" Scorpion objected. "What about your Nargacuga armor? And your Gunlance?"_

"_The less I take with me, the faster I can travel." Xevach explained, mounting a satchel onto his back. "Bahr," The addressed man made eye contact with Xevach. "You mentioned Pokke has a blacksmith. He'll be able to make me armor, right?"_

_Bahr nodded. "Some of the best armor you've ever worn." Xevach seemed skeptical but said nothing._

"_I'll give notice to the guild," The chief began. "And have them send your supplies to Pokke's guild."_

"_No," Xevach objected. "Get in, get the girl, and get out."_

"_I can bring you your armor, Boss!" Scorpion volunteered. "I'm much faster than the guild, nya!"_

"_No." Xevach was adamant. "I'll spend no more than a day searching for Kenshiro."_

"_Kinaia," Bahr corrected. Xevach didn't acknowledge his correction, but Bahr continued nonetheless. "What if you can't find her in a day?"_

"_I will." Xevach made his way towards the base of Yukumo village. "Whether or not she's alive is up to the huntress in question."_

"_Xevach," he stopped and looked back at the village chief addressing him. "Thank you." _

_Xevach seemed to ignore the gratitude and looked to Bahr. "Come on."_

'(He should have at least brought a weapon…)' Bahr looked at Xevach, still dressed in his casual clothes. '(Or at least something with sleeves. We're going to the mountains for goodness sake!)' Bahr looked beyond Xevach and the Felyne and towards the large, wooden gates of Pokke Village illuminated by the moon light. Bahr smiled; the chief had ordered a small cart to make a non-stop trip to Pokke Village just for himself and Xevach. The normally one day journey by mass transportation took only eight hours by the chief's private cart.

Bahr stood up in the wagon, and waved to the guards atop the gates. "It is I, Bahr! I've come back with the Hunter-Hunter I spoke of!" The two guards looked at one another and then swiftly made their way to open the gate. Bahr looked down at Xevach, surprised to see the man's eyes were wide open and glaring a hole into him.

"Never refer to or introduce me as _that_ again." Xevach demanded before rolling out of the cart that had now come to a complete stop. He trotted towards the gate ahead of the cart, leaving Bahr and the wagon to the guards.

"Which way to the village chief?" Xevach asked a lone Felyne that stood beneath the welcoming sign of Pokke Village. Xevach looked around; there was a watermill just ahead of him, and standing nearby was a man with a large backpack. Xevach pegged him as some form of merchant.

"Granny, nya?" The Felyne responded before really looking at Xevach. "She's just down the slope." It looked at Xevach, then sniffed at him curiously. "You're new around here?"

Xevach made no reply. He marched through the village, passing by an empty house on his left, and an old lady with a massive bag with more Felynes hanging from it. He ignored her, as he was told the chief, this 'Granny', was at the base of the slope. He looked to his right, and recognized the smell of a furnace immediately. He made his way there, first, and rung the bell on the counter.

A Felyne, one that looked much like the one near the entrance, jumped up onto the counter. "How can I help nya?" It looked Xevach up and down before clapping. "Ah, a hunter! Boris, we have a customer!" Xevach looked toward the back where a pale man with pointy ears worked shirtless over molten metal.

"A Wyverian blacksmith?" Xevach marveled. The blacksmith's ear twitched, no doubt hearing Xevach's comment, and he turned his head to Xevach.

"Indeed," he placed the cauldron of hot metal down in a pot of boiling water and walked to the counter. "And by the looks of your muscle, your stance and eyes, I'd say you were a hunter."

"That's what I just said, nya." The blacksmith's Felyne helper grumbled.

"How may I be of service to you, hunter?" Boris asked, crossing his arms over his developed upper body.

"My name is Xevach," he introduced himself formally. "And I am the hunter tied to Yukumo Village."

"Yukumo?" Boris let out a chuckle. "Ah, so that's how you know of Wyverians." Xevach nodded. "Tell me; how is the chief?"

"She's fine," Xevach began. "And the reason why I'm here."

"You're the one Bahr fetched then, eh?" Boris' ears perked up again. "Bahr is coming this way right now."

"So this whole village knows?" Xevach's voice was inert, but he sighed internally.

"Kinaia is our only huntress," Boris explained. "And our little girl – even though she's her own woman, we care about her a great deal. So when Bahr said he'd caught wind of some people who could help find her, we all pitched in to get Kinaia back."

Xevach remained silent for a moment. He had no response for the blacksmith, and besides, he heard Bahr calling his name in the distance.

"I'll forge you any armor or weapon you may need," Boris then added, "So long as you have the materials and the funds. Since Kinaia is our only huntress, I don't have much in the reserve. But I can find you something in the back."

"All I need," Xevach began. "Is something to protect me from the cold while I search for her."

"Oh?" Boris' ears twitched. "You have no intention of slaying the wyvern?"

"I was asked to find the girl," Xevach spoke in monotone. "Nothing more, nothing less."

"I see…" Boris' eyes spotted Bahr coming down the slope. "I'm sure Bahr has his reasons." Bahr panted as he came to Xevach's side. "I'll get you what you requested, no charge." Boris walked towards the back of the shop. "Return here when you're ready. Dobe," the Felyne jumped onto its hind legs. "Get his measurements."

"Nya!" Dobe produced a measuring tape from seemingly thin air, and leaped onto Xevach's shoulder. Seemingly unaffected, Xevach extended his arms and stood with his feet at shoulder length.

"I see," Bahr wheezed. "You've already met a few of the locals."

"He lucked out." Dobe explained as he worked. "Boris was just about to close the shop for the night."

"Then good fortune is with us." Bahr coughed. "In the morning, when Xevach leaves, I'll be sure to –"

"I leave tonight." Xevach cut Bahr off. Dobe, who had jumped off of Xevach's shoulder, landed on his face. He shook off the pain, and looked at Xevach in amazement.

"You're gonna go to these unfamiliar mountains, nya, at night?"

"The sooner, the better." Xevach lifted his foot so Dobe could finish the measurements. "Objections?" Xevach asked, staring directly at Bahr.

"If Granny allows it," Bahr conceded. "Then it's fine with me." He sounded both concerned and anxious.

"We're done, nya." Dobe saluted Xevach. "Go ahead and see Granny, big guy."

"Big guy?" Bahr asked as Xevach walked downhill.

"He's the biggest hunter Boris ever had to make armor for." After a beat, Dobe added. "Well, second biggest. But _he _doesn't count." Xevach was well aware of the expressions and moods of Bahr and Dobe, how they hinted at someone of great stature, but cared very little for it.

Xevach glanced at the closed building beside the blacksmith's, and judging by the empty stands outside, figured it was an item shop. To his left was a small waterfall and a small guildhall. He kept that in mind, and he picked up the sound of a small fire.

The first thing he saw, were two small creatures with brown wicker patterns on their back. As he drew nearer, Xevach could make out whiskers on the creature that stood on a pedestal, and a walking cane in the hand of the creature in front of the fire. He also heard Bahr's footsteps catch up to him.

"That's Granny," Bahr was still out of breath. "Up ahead. I'll introduce – Xevach, wait."

Xevach ignored Bahr and stopped on the other side of the fire across from Granny. The Felyne behind her looked up at him and studied him carefully.

"Greetings, village chief." Xevach fell to his knee respectfully.

"Eh?" Granny looked up from the flame and stuck a finger in her ear. "Is someone there?" Xevach, caught off guard by the woman's age stood up and moved closer to her.

"Greetings," he tried again. Granny turned towards him and strained her eyes behind her glasses.

"Bahr, is that you?" Granny looked past Xevach completely and at the mentor standing behind Xevach. "Why're you speaking so formally?"

"Granny…" Bahr sounded nervous and pointed down at Xevach.

"Oh, you brought me a present?" She looked to Xevach, finally. "Hmm…I would have preferred a Popo, but I suppose this young man can pull wagons just as well." Granny waved Bahr away. "You can leave now."

Xevach did not show it, but he felt a bit ticked by this Granny's words and actions.

"But Granny-"

"The only butt is yours, Bahr, as it walks away from myself and this young man here."

"Yes Granny…" Bahr, dejected and rejected, turned away.

"Rise," Granny spoke once it was just her, Xevach and the Felyne behind her. "Hunter of Yukumo Village." Xevach did as instructed, feeling a bit humored now that he understood granny's actions.

"My name is-"

"Your chief has told me a great deal about you," Granny spoke in a tone that informed Xevach that it was better to not interrupt. "And about what you are capable of. Not to mention…_how _you prefer to operate." Granny turned away from the fire and hobbled towards Xevach. Seeing her move made Xevach instinctively move forward to help her.

"I may be old," Granny spoke with a bit of a smile. "But I'm not helpless yet." Xevach froze in his tracks, uncertain of what to do. "But do be a dear and come closer to Granny. My eyesight isn't what it used to be." Xevach complied, and stood before Granny. "My, what a solid young man you are," Granny chuckled. "You remind me of a few of the lads from my day. You have that air about you."

The usually silent Xevach remained silent because he did not want to disrespect Pokke's chief. Besides, Xevach genuinely did not know how to respond. "Bend down so I can get a good look at you." Xevach fell to his knee and bowed his head. "Now, now, stop being so formal!" Granny poked Xevach's shoulder with her cane. "You're making me feel older than I really am."

"I'm sorry-"

"And that's saying something." Xevach looked up at Granny's warm smile, and found himself smiling back. "Ah, that's what I wanted to see." Granny took a few steps towards Xevach who watched her carefully, just in case she did need a hand. Her steps, although slow and shaky, were graceful and sure, and she reached him with no difficulty whatsoever. "You have a beautiful smile, young man. You should smile more often."

Xevach felt his face fall back into a near frown. "Smiling will help you fight against those awful frowny face wrinkles you'll get prematurely, if you keep such a sour face on all the time." Xevach blinked, and touched a hand to his face. "Now, onto business, shall we?"

The Felyne jumped off of its pedestal and paced around Xevach. Xevach did not follow it with his eyes, but with his ears. "What do you think, Nekoht?" Granny asked the cat.

"He definitely is a well-seasoned hunter." Nekoht rubbed his whiskers. "He has the scent of many wyverns on him…most recently Nargacuga." Nekoht took a step forward, taking one of Xevach hands and licked it. "And the subtle taste of gunpowder. A Gunlance user, judging by the callouses and arm muscles." Nekoht, still holding Xevach's hand, patted his shoulders and down his back. "He is, as you said yourself, Granny, solid." Nekoht stepped back from Xevach and bowed his head. Xevach did the same. "And respectful and honorable, to boot." Nekoht then swiped his paw at Xevach's face.

Xevach did not flinch, nor did he break eye contact with Nekoht. "And he has the resolution and willpower of a Lao Shan Lung." Nekoht returned to his pedestal and hopped onto it. "Should you decide to stay for a while, Xevach I believe, come speak to me if you truly wish to test yourself as a hunter."

"I shall keep that in mind." Xevach spoke calmly.

"I'm sure you will." Nekoht sounded bored, almost as though Xevach had turned him down.

"Well, well," Granny laughed. Xevach picked up a particular 'ho ho' tune to her laugh. "It's not every day that Nekoht finds hunters who are already worthy of his challenges." Granny then added thoughtfully. "Or every century for that matter…"

Xevach raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Since you are clearly more than qualified, I will give you this quest scroll." She produced a scroll from beneath her whicker looking robe and handed it to Xevach. "Inside, you will find all the details you need to track down our missing huntress, Kinaia."

Xevach accepted it and read over the writing. "I understand."

"When you leave in the morning, there will be a Felyne cart waiting to take you to the base of the mountain where Kinaia also departed from. I believe the same Felynes have restocked it since she left."

"With all due respect, village chief-"

"Granny." Granny interjected, Xevach looked at her. Granny placed both of her hands on her walking stick and gave him a smile.

"Granny," Xevach spoke, feeling a bit odd for referring to her as such.

"You'll get used to it." Granny spoke as though she could feel Xevach's discomfort.

"With all due respect Granny," Xevach couldn't help but notice he was getting used to calling her 'Granny' already. It was probably because everyone else around him was doing so. "I wanted to leave immediately."

"I can understand the logic you see in leaving now," Granny began. "And believe me; no one in the village wants Kinaia home more than I do." Granny inhaled, taking a moment to calm herself. Xevach remained silent, as he, too, understood Granny's stake in this as his chief had explained Granny's relation to Kinaia. "But having you search for Kinaia unprepared, while she herself was unprepared, will only cost you both your lives."

Xevach wanted to object, but sensed that it was not his time to speak yet. "Besides," Granny's words confirmed his instinct. "Your village chief and I are already on such good terms. I know it would break her little heart if something happened to you."

Xevach exhaled; Granny really _did _seem to know a lot about him. "You are right, Chief – Granny." Xevach corrected himself. "However, the sooner I start-"

"Will you join me for dinner?" Granny offered, hobbling back to the fire. "I was making some Sushifish, and I'm sure you are famished after your journey."

"…" Xevach knew what she was doing.

"Or would you rather some well-done steak?" Granny gestured to a spot beside her. The scent of cooking fish and meat wafted over to Xevach's nose. He was amazed that he did not notice it sooner. He glanced at the fire, noticing Nekoht was placing the raw food near the open flame while Granny was offering Xevach to eat with her.

"I'm sure an honorable and respectful hunter like yourself," Xevach could have sworn that Granny was smirking at him. "Wouldn't turn down an offer from the village chief?"

**Page Break**

Xevach bit into the leftover steak from last night as Granny double checked his items for him. "I trust that you know how to take care of yourself," Granny explained. "But you **are **going to have to be well prepared for when you meet my granddaughter in the field."

Granny patted the pouch on Xevach's side with a smile. "And it's nice to see that Mamofu Set that Boris had to modify for you fits well."

"I can't feel a hint of cold." Xevach marveled at the wool set of 'armor'.

"It's Pokke's specialty." Granny spoke with pride. "Legend has it that the armor can even save you in times of need." Xevach nodded and finished off the meat. "Now, you'll find a map of the area in the blue box at the base camp you're going to be dropped off at."

"That's the same as in Yukumo." Xevach mentioned.

"We village chiefs figured that setting up some aspects of our quests to be identical to the guild would help reduce the level of stress on our hunters." She then beckoned for Xevach to come closer. He complied swiftly. "Now, Xevach, I'd like you to do something special for me."

"Special?" Xevach repeated in the same whispered tone as Granny spoke in. Xevach was well aware of the entire village watching him depart today.

"When you encounter Kinaia, please tell her that Granny said…" She whispered into Xevach's ear. Nekoht and Dobe looked to one another and shrugged. Boris simply smiled to himself.

"I'll be sure to relay the message." Xevach gave Granny a confident nod, the ever so phantom trace of a smile on his lips.

"I know you will." Granny smiled. Xevach stood up and took a step towards the exit to the village. "Oh, my old and worried mind!" Xevach turned on his heel to face Granny. "I nearly forgot. Come back to Granny, Xevach." Xevach crouched beside Granny once more, uncertain if he were following an order from the village chief...or from Granny. "Whenever Kinaia would leave the village, even if it wasn't a quest, I'd give her something very special."

"Something else that's special?" Xevach asked. He looked behind Granny at the villagers. They all seemed to be smiling at him warmly for some reason… Granny lifted Xevach's Mamofu hat and planted a kiss on his forehead. Taken aback by the action, Xevach stood up and started walking hastily towards the exit. He was uncertain of how to react to the sudden show of affection from the old woman.

But Xevach did know one thing for sure; he could feel the eyes of Pokke Village on his back as he made his departure. Just as he passed beyond the cleft of the exit, a breeze ruffled his new Mamofu hat, and Xevach could still feel the damp spot on his forehead. Xevach could have sworn he had heard Granny's voice as a whisper on the wind.

"Be safe, Xevach."


	4. The Bold, The Brash And The Brutal

**Of Monsters And Humans**

**Hunt 4 - The Bold, The Brash And The Brutal**

A small fire cackled with new found life as shivering hands fed mountain herbs to the dying flame. Slowly, the plants caught fire and the flame picked up. Cupping her hands around the blossoming flame, Kinaia gently blew on it, making sure to avoid extinguishing the very vital commodity. As the flames settled down, Kinaia added some dried wood she found at the base of the mountain to the flame.

At first, the flame dimmed. Her hopes followed in suit; but as the flame's gleam became a brighter hue of orange, Kinaia found herself smiling at the now steady burn. She huffed, still cautious of blowing out her fire, and placed her numbing hands over the source of heat. "Damn it's cold..." She muttered anything that came to mind, her voice echoing in the small crevice of the mountains she had claimed as her own.

Only the slight shimmer of orange warmth fought back the bitter cold and depressing darkness.

In the distance, Kinaia saw two corpses of Glaprey succumb to the cold and swiftly get buried under the snow. She shuddered; that could have been her had she not acted quickly. Still, the presence of the Glaprey hanging around this area told her that it was a remotely safe location. "Well," She muttered realistically. "These mountains can only be but so safe with _that _running around..."

'That' referred to the opponent she had set off to defeat, but had to flee from because, as much as Kinaia hated to admit it, she was grossly under prepared. She looked to the gray Great Sword of wrapped Khezu hide that rested a few feet away from her, upset with how things had turned out. "I did everything right..." Immediately, her first encounter with her _foe _came to her mind. "...the second time..." She muttered, remembering how scared the Felyne Brigade was that had saved her life just in the nick of time.

Kinaia huffed, still wary of the flame that was nowhere near as bright or hot as she would have liked it to be. "I used up nearly all of my flash bombs," Kinaia's mentor, Bahr, had taught her how to keep a mental stock of all of the equipment she brought with her.

_"This is no game, Kinaia!" He explained with a dark and booming voice. "You can't pause all of your actions and check your items whenever you please! Time waits for no one, and neither will the monsters that you hunt!"_

Kinaia opened her item pouch and spread what little supplies she still had left. She was torn upon taking stock of her inventory; a part of her was proud that she had remembered everything correctly, but a much larger part of her was upset that more than seventy five percent of her items had been wasted. "My mega potions are gone," she remarked, remembering how every time she gulped one down, her _foe _would launch another vicious attack her way.

"My potions aren't much better off..." She looked to the swaths of honey she collected before finding the niche in the mountains she currently rested in with a dim anticipation. "And I can only make four more Mega Potions... I knew I should have gathered those herbs from the foot of the mountain as well..." She looked to the blue mushrooms which sat uselessly next to the swaths of honey. "I'd take another trip down there, but I've only got one hot drink left -" Kinaia became even more upset when she remembered something else from one of her trips to the mountain base. "That stupid Glaprey wrecked my portable BBQ spit! And this fire is too pitiful to cook anything with..."

Kinaia blew warm breath into her hands. The cold was starting to get to her now that the adrenaline from her earlier battles was wearing off. "Tch..." Kinaia grit her teeth as the harsh truth began to settle in; she hated the idea of accepting facts that were colder than the very mountain itself:

"I wasn't ready for this..." She mumbled to herself. "Everyone was right. I was being brash and reckless, and here I am; three days into a quest and I've hardly laid a finger on that bastard..."

_"Even if you cannot win, please come back." _

"Granny..." Kinaia recalled the warm smile her grandmother gave her right before she departed on her quest. "You let me go, knowing that I wasn't ready...but you respected my decision as the village hunter." Kinaia sniffled a bit; her pride made her believe her slightly runny nose was an adverse effect from the cold. "I may not have killed that bastard, let alone hurt it," Kinaia now spoke with resolve in her tone. "But it didn't kill me, either!" She stood up and gathered her items that were sprawled about in front of her. Kinaia gripped her Great Sword tightly by the hilt and headed towards the opening further back in the niche that lead another section of the mountains. Kinaia knew these mountains well, even without a map, and knew that the path lead to a room-like portion of the caves where there was a ruined wyvern nest that rested atop a dead tree, and a mining point along a catwalk that lead to the outside. She would make her way home from -

There was a sudden, violent roar that thundered through the caves and reverberated in Kinaia's eardrums. Even though she was far off from it, she still instinctively crouched low and covered her ears. The roar long since ended, but its echo was still present as Kinaia unclasped her ears and looked around. _It _had roared for the first time in the last few hours. While Kinaia was no expert on this particular _foe, _she could discern the differences in tis howls.

"That didn't sound like it was scaring off prey..." Kinaia cautiously poked her head out and her eyes scanned the area. She did her best to ignore the cold gnawing at her bones and kept an ear out for _it. _"That sounded exactly like the roar it did before it fought me..."

Something rushed past her and hit the snow with a heavy thud. Kinaia jumped back, her hand instinctively on her Great Sword hilt as her heart pounded so hard she could feel the thumping in her ears. After a moment of motionless from the huntress and the unidentifiable fallen object, Kinaia took a cautious step towards the crater caused by the solid object. She looked up; she could see the shadow of a very large wyvern flying away and towards the summit. Her wyvern...

Kinaia looked back at the inert object and noticed fur bristling in the wind. "A Popo?" She thought aloud. "They do tend to be preyed upon by all wyverns in the area." She released her weapon and put a hand to her carving knife. "Its hide could come in handy for the trip home-" Kinaia paused; the snow was covering up most of the body, but it looked much too small to be a Popo. Even baby Popos were huskier than the lump she was staring at.

"An Anteka?" She shook her head. "Its fur isn't white..." It was then Kinaia noticed light glinted off of the mass in front of her. She sped towards it, her curiosity overpowering her caution, and she slowly recognized the glinting object to be a shield. "It's a person?!" Kinaia brushed away the snow; slowly but surely, the figure of a human being was uncovered. Her hands already numb from digging through the snow, Kinaia gripped the person and pulled. "Geez, you're a big one..." She complained as she found better footing.

With one massive heave from her powerful arms, the person was yanked form the ground like a weed and both bodies hit the snow with a slight crunch. Kinaia spat snow from her face and crawled back towards the person in question.

He was a well-toned male, both in skin and in body type. He had strands of platinum blue hair peeking from beneath the warm Mamofu hood on his head. He was still breathing, thankfully, but his breath was haggard. Kinaia patted his face, but he did not wake up. She then looked up and then looked back down at the unconscious man.

"He fell from so high up," Kinaia looked him over. "He's not bleeding and nothing looks broken." Kinaia then shook her head; why was he wearing Mamofu Armor? She didn't recognize him as any of the Pokke Village locals - the village was small and everyone know who everyone was. Kinaia heard yet another roar from the wyvern she had set out to slay and figured that being out in the open wasn't the best of decisions.

"Come on..." Kinaia hefted the man into a sitting position. She flung his arm over her shoulder and gripped the seam of his belt. "That's a Sword and Shield..." She inspected his equipment. "He's a hunter?" Kinaia struggled to move him back into the niche of the cave, completely forgetting that she had intended to go home.

"Since when do hunters just fall out of the sky?"

_**Page Break **_

"..." Xevach stared at the large mountain that he would have to climb. "I'm glad I brought some potions from home." He went into his item pouch and retrieved a Power Juice. "This stamina booster should be all I need to climb up here, and find Kintoma."

Xevach chugged the drink and then wiped his face.

"...Kinaia." He corrected himself, looking at the Quest scroll. "Whatever." Xevach jogged towards the clefts and steeps of the mountain side and darted up them. With every slight increase of altitude, he noticed the surfaces getting snowier. He pulled himself up onto a snow covered ledge where ivy grew and acted almost like a ladder. He looked over the suit that he wore and was impressed by the quality and practicality of the Mamofu Set he wore.

"I can't feel a bit of this cold." He thought back to the Tundra area he had traversed a few times while doing quests for the Yukumo Village chief. "This would have been helpful then." Xevach looked around with expert eyes. "I've yet to encounter any wild life...nor have I heard any roars." He looked to his left at the mouth of a cave, then to his right at more vines that he could climb.

"I'll work my way down." Xevach took to the vines, and hand over hand, he made his way to the top - There was a snort, and the sound of something grinding into the snow. Xevach pulled himself up completely and recognized a Bullfango. "They're in these parts as well?" He spoke calmly as it charged at him. Xevach rolled to his right seconds before the Bullfango would have touched him. It stopped short of the edge, and slowly began to turn around. Xevach was already swinging his sword down at the boar's flank, rolling and pivoting on his feet for a few seconds.

The Bullfango dropped before it had the chance to face Xevach a second time. Xevach looked down at the Bone Sword in his left hand covered in bristles and blood. "...I can't take on a wyvern like this." Xevach sheathed his weapon and drew his carving knife. He got himself a nice hunk of raw meat and moved on, not bothering to look back at the carcass as it was buried under snow.

Xevach crouched low; as he was walking through the snow, he heard a distinctive crunch that wasn't snow. He pushed the snow away and found a wooden stick snapped in half. He kept digging, and also found charcoal and ashes. "A BBQ pit?" Xevach gathered the charcoal and sticks, and placed them in his item pouch.

_"I can feel it! She's alive, but she's fighting for her life..."_

"If she really is alive, she'll need warmth." Xevach trekked on, keeping his eyes and ears open for any signs of Kinaia. Or for the unknown wyvern in the area.

"Tch..." Xevach covered his face as the wind grew harsher. He began feeling a bit of the bitter cold biting at his skin, even though the Mamofu Set he wore. "The Tundra never had snowstorms this bad..." He could hardly see in front of himself, let alone hear anything over the sound of the wailing wind. Xevach crouched low to the ground, decreasing the amount of wind resistance on his body.

"I sincerely hope that she's not here..." Xevach grumbled. "And if she is..." Xevach did not complete the sentence.

_"So, you were unable to find him?!" Xevach, dressed in his Nargacuga armor, shook his head and presented a long sword to the grieving pair in front of him. "Oh my God...that's his sword..."_

_"Our son... he's...?" The man asked, staring at Xevach's helm. Xevach did not move; there was no need to respond. The silence was answer enough. "I...I see."_

_"You were supposed to find him!" The woman, the lost hunter's mother, yelled. "You were supposed to find him, and bring him back home alive!"_

_"Dear..." The husband began. "...we knew that something was wrong..."_

_"No!" She yelled; everyone in the guild flinched at the sound of the mother's distraught voice. "We paid him to find our son and bring him back alive!"_

_"Dear..."_

_"Give me my son," She stared Xevach in the eye, despite the height difference and the mask on his face, "Or give me back our money."_

_"Dear...that's not fair to him-"_

_Xevach retrieved the gold pouch on his hip and placed it into the woman's hands. She looked down at the pouch and then up at Xevach. Her face changed from sadness to rage. "Do you think this is funny?!" She threw the gold pouch at Xevach. It bounced off of his chest harmlessly and landed next to his feet._

_"Money cannot buy my son!"_

_"Yet you expect it to bring your son back to life?" Everyone fell quiet at Xevach's words. "Like I said; his sword and a few scraps of his armor were the only recognizable objects. Everything else was either chewed or charred beyond recog-"_

_"Shut up!" She yelled hysterically. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"_

_Xevach complied, watching as the husband held his wife. "Did you really have to be so blunt about it?" He spoke lowly through clenched teeth. "She's already in enough pain as is."_

_Xevach said nothing else. He bent down, and picked up the gold pouch. He then extended his hand to the mother and took the sword back from her, and placed the gold back into her hand. "What are you doing?" The husband remarked._

_Xevach placed the long sword on his back. "One of us needs to honor your son for the hunter he was. If it won't be you, then I'll be the one who does it."_

Xevach snorted as snow flew up his nose. He sputtered as the snow flew into his face and shivered as he finally felt the cold being to hit him. He wiped the crystalizing snow from his eyes and looked around. Xevach had been so caught up in his mind, he had lost his bearings. Still crouching low, he retrieved the map he brought with him, but could not see it through all the snow. Nor could he see it in the darkness -

Xevach looked up; it wasn't night time. There was a large body falling from the sky right on top of his position! Xevach rolled to his left, releasing the map as he braced his arm on the snow. He sprang up, and looked behind him.

The wyvern was visibly recognizable by its orange-ish-yellow skin with blue stripes. Its wings were a part of its legs, allowing it to move swiftly and with great control while on the ground. It had two vicious rows of razor sharp teeth and beady, soulless eyes. It was a mass of raw power, muscles and to Xevach's past knowledge, ferocity.

"Tigrex..." Xevach whispered, crouching low on the snowy ground. He felt his heart rate pick up and his stomach drop. '(That explains why Bahr wasn't broadcasting which wyvern was in the area.)' Xevach lowly backed away from the Wyvern that now looked around the mountain peak. '(Any hunter in their right mind would have dismissed him once they knew what was in the area...)' Xevach gulped; he noticed the Tigrex's head perk up and it sniffed the air.

'(Stay calm...)' He informed himself mentally. '(Tigrex are rumored to be able to smell fear.)' While Xevach knew that wyvern's couldn't smell _fear_, a rare few could detect the hormonal and temperate changes in a living creature's body that was associated with being frightened. It was how they hunted. Xevach was almost at the border between this, and the area that he found the broken BBQ spit it, when he stepped on something.

Immediately, the Tigrex looked towards him. Xevach glanced down; he had stepped on the bone of a piece of charred meat and it shattered like ice. Xevach looked up, and instantly, the Tigrex's fore limbs turned red and it slammed its claws down. Xevach knew what that meant; it was enraged and would do even more damage than its usual immense output. The Tigrex roared; the noise was almost visible as the snow parted from its face.

"...damn." Xevach gripped the hilt of his sword instinctively and drew it. The Tigrex charged him - its speed was so incredible that it was already before Xevach - and all the hunter could do was raise his shield to guard -

A loud, sharp impact sound. Xevach's feet leaving solid earth. The Tigrex's second roar...and then darkness...

_**Page Break**_

Kinaia fed her small fire with the charcoal and wood that she found on the hunter's person while checking him for injuries. Now that the fire burned brightly, she also cooked the meat that he had on him. "Why were you in the mountains?" She wondered, the smell of cooking meat made her stomach grumble. It had been days since she had a decent meal and chewing on mountain herbs only staved off starvation but so well.

"You're a lucky one," She spoke to him as he seemed to breathe easier now. "Not many hunters can face a Tigrex and make it out alive." Kinaia's words rung within herself; she remembered that her grandmother and everyone else in the village was waiting for her to return. It was then she looked at the Mamofu chest piece that was over the unknown hunter like a blanket. There was a sheet of parchment sticking out of the inside pocket. Kinaia easily recognized it as a quest scroll.

She crawled around the fire, making sure not to make noise and disrupt the sleeping hunter. She reached out her hand and went for the scroll.

"Mm..." He groaned, his eyes opening. "Ugh..." His eyes opened completely and he found someone hovering over him. The man rolled over, and pressed his back against the wall. Kinaia noticed him grab for the sword that should have been on his back. When he did not find it, he reached for his carving knife instead.

"Your stuff," Kinaia spoke calmly. "Is over there." She pointed to her Great Sword and the man's weapon lying side by side. He did not look away from Kinaia for a moment.

"Pink armor," he spoke up. Kinaia raised an eye brow at the comment. "Blue hair tied into a ponytail over the right shoulder." He looked at the weapons she had been pointing to and eyed her Great Sword. "And a Great Sword wrapped in the gray hide of a Khetu."

"Khezu." Kinaia corrected.

"Whatever." He pried himself off of the wall and moved towards the fire. "You're Kint-" He cleared his throat. "Kinaia."

"And you're bad with names." Kinaia spoke with a bit of humor. "But how do you know my name?"

"Good," he spoke, totally ignoring her question. "Gather you things. We're leaving."

"No thank you?" Kinaia spoke, watching as the man put his Mamofu jacket back on. "No explanation as to how you know my name, or why you're wearing Mamofu Armor form Pokke Village when you're not even from there?"

Xevach remained silent as he shoved his arm into his shield.

"Hey, I'm speaking to you!" Kinaia's tone lost its humor.

"I can hear you." He replied, sheathing his sword. "It doesn't matter. All that matters is that I need to get you out of here."

"You need to get me out of here?" Kinaia repeated. "What," she scoffed with a smirk on her face. "You're here to rescue me?"

He looked at Kinaia. He opened his mouth, but then fell silent. _"It might be better, if you don't mention that you're supposed to be saving her." _He remained silent and stood up. "Ugh!" He gripped his leg and doubled over.

"Don't hurt yourself." Kinaia spat, her eyes narrowed with spite.

"..." He closed his eyes and then groaned. "Right. The Tigrex on the mountain..."

"And you're a very lucky hunter," Kinaia remarked on his outspoken recollection. "The snow cushioned your fall. The thick Mamofu Set helped, too. Oh, and we can't forget about the huntress who _saved your life._"

"Meh," He groaned. "This complicates things..."

"Will you stop ignoring me?" Kinaia grumbled. "And start answering some of my questions?!" He looked at her for a moment, before sitting down on the floor of the cave near the fire. He pulled at the fasteners of his pants, and Kinaia took a step back. "Hey, if you have to go, do it outside."

"I'm checking my leg." He retorted dryly.

"Well, say something next time..." Kinaia turned around and sat down.

"I have on clothes beneath this." He spoke casually.

"That you'll have to take off, too, to see your leg." Kinaia vied to get the last word.

"It's not broken...or swollen. It just hurts." Kinaia heard him adjust his clothing. "I'll stay off of it for a few minutes, then we have to move."

"You seem awfully anxious to go." Kinaia turned back around to face him.

"You want to stick around with a Tigrex in the vicinity?" He asked bluntly.

"..." Kinaia fell silent and averted her gaze to the fire.

"What happened to retreating once you knew you couldn't win?" Kinaia instantly looked up at the man who was staring directly at her.

"What are you-?"

"You weren't prepared to face a Tigrex on your own." He continued, his voice a monotone. "And once you saw that, you should have went back home."

"Aren't you well informed?" Kinaia pursed her lips. "And just who are you anyway?" The man remained silent. "Look, we're just sitting here, might as well kill time, right?"

"..." He stayed silent, reclining back on the wall and closing his eyes.

"And I've lost him..." Kinaia sighed. "Look, you're clearly here for a reason, right? What is it?" When he showed no signs of replying, Kinaia took a different approach. "You're wearing the signature armor of my goddamn Village. You had better start speaking up or else!"

One of his eyes opened, and he watched Kinaia just beyond the fire. "Pfft." He closed his eye and let out a yawn.

"Excuse me?" Kinaia roared, standing up. He said nothing; he didn't even open his eye again. "Ooh," Kinaia seethed. "Guys like you piss me off..."

"Guys like me?" His voice nearly startled her.

"Yeah," Kinaia didn't lose her cool. "You act all broody and uninterested, thinking that it makes you cool."

"This is no act," He assured her. "Once I get you home, I'm done with this rescue quest." His eyes popped open as the word rescue left his lips. He internally groaned, especially when Kinaia became silent.

"Rescue quest?" Kinaia took a step towards him.

"..."

"Rescue quest?!"

"Should've kept my mouth shut..." He grumbled.

"What did you say?"

"I said I think we can head out now." He rose to his feet and shook his leg. He then patted himself down then looked into his item pouch. "No map..." He remembered letting go of it when he was trying to avoid the Tigrex.

"Lucky for you," Kinaia began. "I know these mountains like the back of my hand."

"Good." He gestured towards the niche opening. "Lead the way."

"Pfft."

"Excuse me?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Look here; I'm not about to go home and let you get all the credit for bringing me back, and I'm not about to travel with some random stranger who won't even tell me his name!"

"The meat is burning."

"What kind of person do you take me - what?" Kinaia looked down at the fire and sure enough, the slab of raw meat was turning black. She ripped it from the spit over the fire, and tried blowing on it. He watched, as Kinaia sat down in the corner and frowned over the half burnt meat. "This is all your fault."

"What?!" He asked incredulously. It was the most emotion Kinaia heard in his voice thus far.

"If you had just spoken to me like a normal human being, we could have been halfway back to the village by now, and I could have been snacking on a well-done steak."

"...that's from my pouch, isn't it?" He asked with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

"That's beside the point!" Kinaia pointed the half-burnt meant at the man. "We've been here for almost ten minutes, and I still don't know who you are, why you're in my village's armor, or what even makes you THINK that I needed saving from some two bit hunter like -"

Kinaia's voice was swiftly drowned out by the roar of a Tigrex. Kinaia stopped speaking, covering her ears and closing her eyes. Xevach flinched, closing an eye but keeping an ear out.

"It's on the move." He spoke a few seconds after the echoes of its roars died down. "This could be our last chance." He looked over at Kinaia, noticing that she was shivering.

"I've been hearing that roar for the past three days..." She shook herself once, regaining control of her nerves. "Not to mention all the times that it's flown too close to our village in the past."

He stared at her for a moment, then two moments, then three. He stared at Kinaia so long, that she looked back at him with a cautious expression and her hand approaching her Great Sword. "What?"

"You stuck around because you felt that if you didn't slay this Tigrex now...you wouldn't be a hunter worthy of protecting your village." He spoke in more of statement than a question.

"Wh-what?" Kinaia sounded hollow.

"Nothing..." He shook his head. "We should move. Your grandmother is waiting for you. Your _village _is waiting for you."

"..." Kinaia took a few steps towards the man and stopped beside him. She took his arm and threw it over her shoulders. The height difference made both feel a bit awkward, but before he could speak out about it Kinaia grumbled "You're limping. We'll be able to move faster if I support you."

He didn't object. Instead, he placed some of his weight on her and gripped the handle of her Great Sword. "What're you-"

He hefted Kinaia's sword off of her back and tucked it under his arm. "Should we encounter any opposition." Kinaia glared at him, clearly upset with the invasion of personal belongings. "It has much better reach than this Bone Sword." He didn't seem to care for Kinaia's look. Deciding to say nothing more, Kinaia jammed her elbow into his side.

"Let's go." He stifled a grunt, but took a step forward. "And you follow my lead...you heavy jerk." She muttered the last part under her breath.

"You're short." He snarled back, so that he could be heard. His remark earned him another elbow in the ribs.

_**Page Break**_

Kinaia looked up as the hunter who had still yet to tell her his name, climbed down the ivy. "Why didn't I just jump down?" She asked.

"So you can catch me if my leg gives out." He responded for the second time. "You probably can't catch me, since I'm heavy and all."

"You didn't need to add that last part." Kinaia huffed. "Still, I usually just jump off the edge, so it feels a bit odd climbing down."

"Something we can agree on." Xevach huffed as he lurched down the ivy.

"You still haven't told me your name." She remarked, pausing to take a breather.

"It doesn't matter." He responded in monotone. "Once we're back, my job will be done and we'll never cross paths again."

"Gee," Kinaia watched as he neared her. "Aren't you the epitome of sunshine and social prosperity." He paused next to her, the two making eye contact for a moment.

"I try." He spoke before releasing the ivy and sliding down the plant fireman style. "Come on." He waved to her. "My leg is feeling better."

Kinaia looked away from him, and at the ivy. "Tch," she scoffed. "I could do that, too." She released the ivy, and went to slide down the side of the mountain. She heard a very thick _snap! _And looked up at the vine-like plant fall past her. "Uh oh." She muttered before feeling her weight plunge downward. She let out a yell - and so did the hunter who she was falling towards.

With a loud thud, Kinaia landed atop the hunter and her Great Sword which she had taken back to free up his hands. He let out a grunt, and tried pushing Kinaia off of him.

"Damn it..." He felt his leg beneath him throb with a searing pain. "So much for feeling better."

"Sor-"

"What's wrong with you?" His voice was lethal. Before Kinaia could respond, he squirmed again, trying to get Kinaia off of him.

"Hey, it's not my fault the ivy snapped!" Kinaia shot back, feeling her body be rolled over by the male hunter's motions. "Hey! Quit it!"

"It may actually be swollen now, thanks to you!" He yelled before grunting angrily and falling silent. He stopped squirming and waited for Kinaia to move. "It doesn't matter. Let's just go."

"What's your problem?" Kinaia brushed herself off and checked her Great Sword. "You always seem to cut yourself off before saying something to me." Kinaia pushed herself off of the ground and into a sitting position. "Do you have something you'd like to get off your chest?" Kinaia asked belligerently, looking down on him.

"Yeah." Xevach looked her dead in the eye. "Your heavy behind."

Kinaia stared at him for a beat. She made a fist and socked him across the face before standing up. "Well excuse me." She walked towards the next area where the base camp lie just beyond. "I'm sure that you'll be able to walk?"

Xevach inflated his cheek, trying to get rid of the stinging feeling. "Without your fat-" He caught himself, and in the nick of time too, as he looked down the tip of the great sword wrapped in gray hide. He looked to Kinaia, surprised to find her looking above instead of at him.

"We've got to move!" She instructed, running to him and grabbing him by the waist. He swung his arm over Kinaia's shoulders and they began quickly and clumsily heading towards the base camp. "We can make it!" Kinaia huffed as she and the hunter hobbled past the lake. "We can make it. We can-"

A dark shadow appeared over their heads. The man pulled Kinaia by the shoulders and they both spun to the ground. The Tigrex nearly landing on top of them, its weight causing the earth to shake and tremble. It planted its fore legs as the two hunters tried to get back up, and released a powerful roar. Both hunters were propelled by the explosive outcry, and separated. Kinaia hit the ground rolling towards the mountain, and the male felt his Mamofu set get soaked as he skidded across the shallow edge of the lake.

The Tigrex lifted its claws and looked between the two hunters. Kinaia was already up, drawing her Great Sword. Her 'rescuer' on the other hand, was struggling to get up under the added weight of the wet suit and mud. The Tigrex let out a huff and charged towards the man. "Look out!" Kinaia had to sheath her Great Sword in order to run effectively.

The man's hand dove into his pocket and he retrieved something that fit well into the palm of his hand. He threw it in front of him and covered his eyes. Kinaia knew just what it was and looked away. There was a sudden burst of intense white light, and the Tigrex reeled back. Temporarily blinded by the flash bomb, the man hobbled towards Kinaia.

"I've got four more!" He yelled as Kinaia neared him. "We'll use them to cover our escape-"

"It recovered!" He spun around as best he could and drew his shield at Kinaia's sudden warning. The Tigrex leaped at him and its claws scraped against the surface of his shield. Kinaia was sure she saw sparks as he was sent careening backwards. Kinaia managed to scoop up the hunter who was throwing another flash bomb forward.

"It recovers faster while enraged!" He snarled as the bomb went off. The Tigrex roared once more, and shook its head. "Damn that was quick!"

"What's he got to be angry about?!" Kinaia let go of him and drew her Great Sword as the Tigrex charged them. She hefted the sword over her shoulder and readied an attack. The instant the Tigrex came into her reach, Kinaia dropped her sword down on its face. The wyvern skid to a halt and reared back.

"I set a pitfall!" Kinaia looked back, and sure enough, a layer of grass looked recently disturbed. "Let's move!" Kinaia sheathed her sword and helped him up. The made a beeline for the Base Camp with Kinaia keeping an eye on the Tigrex. It took a few steps forward, and sure enough, its immense weight was its literal downfall as it sank into the pitfall trap.

"It worked!" Kinaia laughed. They were now more than halfway there and things were looking up. The Tigrex let loose another explosive roar and Kinaia heard the ground crack. She watched, with dread in her eyes, as the Tigrex struck the ground with its wings spread out and leaped out of the hole. It looked directly at the two fleeing hunters and lifted its right claw.

"Oh no!" Kinaia let go of the hunter and drew her great sword. She dropped it in front of her defensively just as a small boulder kicked up by the Tigrex came too close. She fell on her back, winded by the fierce attack and lack of a proper meal. She saw the hunter come into her line of vision and throw another flash bomb. It went off just as she felt his hands on her torso.

"Let's move!" As he lifted her up, Kinaia saw that the Tigrex was already recovered from the flash bomb. It moved much faster this time, hardly lifting its claw and brought it down to the earth. Kinaia couldn't react in time; one of the boulders flew straight and scored a direct hit on the hunter's back. He, with Kinaia in his arms, was sent flying forward. They struck the ground, her 'rescuer' taking the brunt of the fall as well. Kinaia pushed herself off of him, and looked back at the Tigrex. It was coming straight for them...

And her Great Sword lay between her and it.

Kinaia then realized that she heard some sort of... twinkling sound? She looked back at the male just in time to see him rising to his feet as though nothing had happened. He drew his bone sword and took a few steps towards the Tigrex. He launched the sword at the Tigrex like a javelin, and it struck the wyvern straight in the left eye. It wailed, falling to its side from the sudden loss of its sight.

"Get your weapon," he spoke as he fell to the ground. "I don't know how, but I'm alive..." Kinaia scurried across the field, not stopping to look at the Tigrex as its tail thrashed about in agony. She placed her sword on her back holster and once again took the man by his waist...

_**Page Break**_

Kinaia removed her helmet and threw it to the side of the cart. "Holy..." she inhaled deeply. "I can't believe the thing followed us all the way down the mountain."

"That's a Tigrex for you," he spoke as he inspected the back of his Mamofu jacket. "Relentless." Kinaia watched him as he ran his fingers over the wool of the jacket.

"Something up?" She asked, reveling in the lost expression on his face.

"This outfit is great for the cold," he muttered. "But...it's flimsy."

"Mamofu Armor," Kinaia spoke with a relieved grin. "It protects you against the cold, and is the pride of our village."

"A Tigrex," His monotone didn't reflect the surprise he felt. "Threw a boulder at me...and this thing saved my life."

"The specialty of Pokke Village...it's said to have the power to save the wearer in times of need." He looked to Kinaia with a skeptic look. The look vanished a few seconds later and he fell silent. He placed the jacket beside him and closed his eyes.

"Wake me when we get there." He muttered.

"..." Kinaia said nothing in response, nor for the next fifteen minutes of the trip. She looked up, and could see the entrance gates to Pokke Village a ways off in the distance. "I'm finally home..." She looked to the hunter and nudged his foot with her own. "We're here."

"So I heard." He opened his eyes, not looking the least bit drowsy or groggy.

"Were you awake the whole time?" Kinaia asked, not particularly interested. She got no answer, and was almost used to this. "You never did tell me your name."

"There's no point in telling you." He spoke with a yawn. He then suddenly sat up, as though he forgot something. "But there is one thing I have to tell you."

"What?" Kinaia sighed; she just wanted to get home and get cleaned up after all that she had been through.

"'I love you.'" Kinaia stared blankly at the man for a moment.

"What?" It was a quiet, dumbfounded response.

"'I love you.'" He repeated. "'We all love you, Kinaia.'"

"...did that last attack do more damage than we thought?"

"It's a message from your grandmother." He explained. "'I love you. We all love you, Kinaia. We know that you went out to slay this monster for the safety of the village and everyone with it, and we let you go because there was no stopping you.'"

Kinaia listened intently to the man; slowly, his deep voice gave way to her grandmother's kind voice.

"'But you don't have to prove anything to us; you are an exceptional hunter, and a beautiful granddaughter. You've proven both time and time again. You don't have to try and prove anything to yourself, either. You may feel the tension more than anyone else in the village, but deep down inside, you know that you can handle whatever comes your way. And so do we.'"

Kinaia felt herself tearing up as the cart slowed down at the entrance.

"'We're all so proud of you, Kinaia,'" The hunter continued. "'So just remember this as you trek into the mountains: Even if you cannot win, please come back.'" He paused for a second, aware that the words were getting to Kinaia.

"You okay?" He asked in monotone.

"Hm?" Kinaia sniffed slightly and laughed. "Yeah, just tired..." She looked up at the stars in the sky, rubbing her eyes.

"You have every right to be." He spoke, looking away from her. The gates to Pokke Village opened and a mob of people rushed out to greet Kinaia. She grinned from ear to ear, happy to see everyone again as she stood up. She unconsciously looked down to her rescuer and found him staring directly at her.

"Go." He urged. "They missed you."

Kinaia gave him a nod before jumping out of the cart. She jogged towards everyone with open arms. In the cart, the man crossed his arms and closed his eyes again. "Between Bahr, the villagers and Kinaia, I haven't been able to get a decent snooze-"

"You did it!" Bahr jolted the side of the cart. "Xevach, you really, really did it!" Xevach opened his eyes slowly as Bahr went on. "I have to admit, I had my doubts since you left at sunrise and wasn't back -"

"Bahr." Xevach interrupted him. "Shouldn't you be enjoying the reunion?"

"Well, of course." Bahr then extended a hand to Xevach. "I was just coming to get the one who made it all possible." Xevach looked at Bahr's hand for less than a millisecond.

"I'm sure I can expect the zenny in the mail?" Xevach banged the back of the cart. "Take me to Yukumo village."

"Leaving so soon?" Xevach sat up as he recognized the sound of Granny's voice. Beside her was Kinaia and Boris. Dobe was sitting on Boris' shoulder. Xevach looked past them and saw the rest of the villagers.

"The sooner I head home the better." Xevach explained, reclining into the cart again. "I'll be keeping the Mamofu outfit, by the way."

"You can't just go!" Bahr piped up. "You're going to miss the party!"

"Party?" Kinaia asked.

"Way to ruin the surprise, Bahr." Boris sighed.

"Well, do arrive safely, Xevach." Granny gave him a wave with her cane. Xevach remained mute, but caught a small pouch of gold. He glanced over the edge and found Nekhot beside granny.

"It's all there." Nekhot rubbed one of his whiskers.

"You're letting him go?" Boris asked. Granny nodded. "Very well then. Should you ever need armor or a weapon that can't be forged in Yukumo, you're welcome to come to me."

"So long as I have the funds and materials."

"Ah," Boris laughed. "You don't miss anything, do you, Xevach?"

"Thank you again, Xevach." Bahr spoke humbly. "I'm forever indebted to you."

"Just doing my job."

"Such a modest man..." Bahr's comment held a bit of humor as well as sadness.

"Do come back to visit, Xevach." Granny smiled.

"Perhaps." Xevach mused genuinely. "The ecosystem here seems… different."

"And do tell your sweet village chief that I send my regards."

"And do not forget my offer, Xevach." Nekhot spoke up.

"I won't." He spoke sullenly.

"Hmm...Sure." Nekoht smoothed a whisker, certain that Xevach had already made up his mind.

"So, you're just going to leave?" Kinaia asked.

"..."

"And you still haven't told me your name? I had to hear it from the townspeople."

"..."

"It's the way he operates, deary," Granny spoke up as she walked away. "The less connections he has, the less it hurts." Xevach shot up and looked in Granny's direction. He watched as she hobbled through the gates. "I told you... I know a lot about you, Xevach!" She laughed, the noise sounding like 'ho ho ho' as Xevach stared after her.

"What's she mean, Xevach?" Bahr asked. Xevach had fallen silent, but was visibly tense.

"Nya!" Dobe jumped off of Boris's shoulder and next to Xevach in the cart. "There's a message for ya, nya." He handed Xevach a rolled up sheet of paper with a paw print stamp on it.

"Scorpion." Xevach recognized his Felyne Comrade's 'signature'. He opened the scroll and read it silently. "He left shortly after me and will be here by sunrise tomorrow..." Xevach sighed and swung his legs out of the cart. He stood up and instantly regretted it; he faltered as his leg couldn't take his body weight. Those who were still nearby gasped as he fell forward and moved to catch him. They were all beaten by their huntress.

"Geez," Kinaia groaned. "You're heavy." Xevach found his arm over her shoulders and most of his weight was on her. "C'mon; we can't send you off like this, can we?"

"I'll be-"

"Yeah, Yeah," Kinaia cut him off. "But you'll be _better_ in the morning. Let's find you some place to stay for the night, eh?"

_This chapter totally went against the ten-fifteen page rule, but seeing a how this was the chapter the two main characters meet in, I figured I could make an exception._


	5. Nobility or Narcissism?

**Of Monsters And Humans**

* * *

**Hunt 5 – Nobility or Narcissism?**

"This was not the idea I had in mind when I suggested he spent the night…" Kinaia grumbled as she slapped a mat made out of the bristles of Anteka down onto the floor of her home. "Can't he just…sleep on the farm? Or maybe in one of the shops?"

"Ho ho ho," Granny laughed as she sat on Kinaia's bed, watching her prepare for her overnight guest. "I'm sure that you'll be able to survive one night with the man who helped save your life."

"Pfft," Kinaia scoffed. "I was already on my way back when he fell from the frigging sky and got himself injured. If anything, he slowed me down!" She spoke indignantly, throwing a pillow at the center of the mat. "I could have been on my way home by the time that Tigrex landed in the second area…"

"And if you weren't?" Granny asked darkly.

"…" Kinaia said nothing, but her anger was not derailed.

"While I can understand that Xevach's presence has…upset you," Kinaia looked back at her grandmother to speak, but knew by the look in her eye that she should remain quiet. "You have to understand, Kinaia, that he was a form of insurance. And, judging by what you've told me, you _both _saved each other's life."

"Humph." Kinaia dropped a blanket down on the mat and clapped her hands together. "I still don't like the fact he has to sleep here."

"Would you rather him sleep in the wild?" Granny asked. "Or in the barn with the Popos, nervous of the wyvern's presence?" Kinaia opened her mouth to retort, but Granny beat her to the punch. "You _are_ the one who extended the invitation to him. And the Felyne who would have taken him back to Yukumo Village is already asleep."

"Where's that Felyne sleeping?" Kinaia asked curiously.

"In the Hunter's Guild quarters."

"Why can't Xevach sleep there?" Her tone rose a bit.

"The cart Felyne took the last room."

"Why can't they share the room?" She inquired.

"The last room wasn't sized for humans. Much less Xevach."

"Of course." Kinaia accepted defeat.

"It's only for one night," Granny reassured. "And I'm sure you both will fall asleep the minute your heads hit the pillows."

"Granny…" Kinaia argued feebly. "You said that just a bit too…easily."

"Oh, pish-posh, deary." Granny chuckled. "You and I both know what I mean." Granny then sported a coy smirk. "Ooooh."

"What?" Kinaia didn't like that smirk. Kinaia smirked like that all the time; she got that smirk from her mother, and her mother from Granny. "What are you thinking?"

"Yesterday may have been my first time meeting him," Granny began with a hand over her face. "But Xevach seems like a pretty innocent young man." Kinaia narrowed her eyes at her grandmother. "Perhaps you're putting up such a fuss because you wouldn't be able to contain yourself around him?"

"Out." Kinaia pointed to the door.

Granny hopped off of the bed and retrieved her cane from the bed post. "I'll get out of your hair," Granny then winked. "Which you're wearing down by the way."

"Granny." Kinaia spoke crossly.

"I understand that thinking of your grandmother is a mood killer during-"

"Granny!" Kinaia shouted, turning a bit red in the face.

"I'm going, I'm going." Granny laughed jovially. "No need to get all flustered and worked up." Granny placed her hand on the doorknob. "Yet."

"Granny I swear-" Kinaia cut herself off when Granny opened the front door, and revealed Xevach taking a step back from Kinaia's house. "Xevach!"

"I'll come back later." He uttered swiftly, about to turn on his heel.

"Nonsense!" Granny had her cane on Xevach's wrist in an instant. "I was on my way out."

"…" Xevach looked down at Granny and then to Kinaia before his eyes settled on Granny again. "So I've heard."

"Oh god…" Kinaia groaned, holding her forehead.

"Ho ho ho," Granny laughed and motioned for Xevach to come closer. He complied, falling on one knee before the village chief. "You have a good night, Xevach." She kissed him on the forehead. Xevach seemed to cringe, but his expression did not change. "And thank you for finding her." Xevach stood up straight with a nod, his forehead wrinkled. Granny waved to her granddaughter and stepped past Xevach.

"Oh, Xevach!" He looked over his shoulder and Granny swatted him on the backside. "Three grandchildren is fine." She hooted and hollered before hobbling off in a hurry. Xevach stared after Granny, slack jawed and feeling a bit violated.

"Oh my god…" Kinaia repeated covering her mouth. "I don't know if my stomach hurts from seeing that, or from holding in laughter." Xevach turned to face her, his mouth still agape, and Kinaia immediately burst into giggles.

"Everyone in this village is beyond insane." Xevach forced himself to regain composure and closed the door behind him. He glanced at the mat that Kinaia stood over and then at the bed. "…We'll be sleeping in the same room?" Kinaia hadn't heard him over her laughter, so he waited until she calmed down before repeating his question.

"It's a small house." Kinaia explained, turning her back to Xevach and facing a folding door that blocked off a second room.

"What about back there?" Xevach asked, pointing to the door Kinaia now faced.

"If you're talking about that," Kinaia pointed to the door, as she did not bother looking back at Xevach. "That's the Felyne kitchen."

"Oh." Kinaia heard Xevach inhale deeply through his nose. "Wait, Felyne Kitchen?"

"Yeah," Kinaia spoke indifferently. "Y'know, where my Felynes cook food for me before I go off on a quest?"

"Never heard of it." Xevach spoke bluntly.

"What?" Kinaia spun around on her heel. "You don't eat before you go on a quest?" Kinaia sounded nearly traumatized.

"We have natural hot springs in Yukumo," Xevach explained. "Soaking in them for merely a moment invigorates body, mind and soul." After a beat he added: "We do have a nice selection of drinks, though. A hot bath and a cold drink…" He trailed off, seemingly lost in the thought of it.

"That's nothing compared to having a full meal in your stomach!" Kinaia bartered. "Having fresh ingredients prepared by expert Felyne Chefs, each chef infusing the food with love and affection in order to make a dish that feeds your body and your spirit…" Kinaia licked her lips. "Not to mention the smell."

"Our customs are very foreign." Xevach spoke with a monotone finality.

"Foreign…" Kinaia mimicked. She stared at Xevach, her mind wrapping around the word. It was then, Kinaia noticed, that Xevach was…

"What?" Xevach asked with a bit of a shrug.

Kinaia tilted her head; this was the first time since meeting him that she had a moment to really _look _at Xevach. He had platinum blue hair that fell about his jawline on the sides and shoulders in the back. There were bags under his platinum blue eyes, but they didn't show any hint of tiredness. He had a very sturdy looking face, enhanced by a solid neck and a bit of platinum blue scruff along his chin. His skin was darkened; undoubtedly from spending most of his life in the sun, but it was obvious he was of a darker pigment than anyone in Kinaia's village. Kinaia herself, was relatively tanned, but Xevach was _dark._ His skin reminded her of chocolate.

Xevach had very broad shoulders and a stout torso. His long arms were well developed, but he didn't look like an awkward mass of muscle on scrawny legs like a few of the other hunters that Kinaia had seen in the Pokke Village Hunter's Guild. The clothes he wore looked relatively familiar, but there were a few orange and red accents that must have been original to Yukumo Village's color scheme. The vest stopped short of his abdomen showing off a multitude of muscles that Kinaia hadn't seen on other hunters. His pants were low cut, showing off a pair of legs that were just as equally worked on as his upper body. Even his left leg, bandaged from today's earlier injury, still looked very capable.

"Something wrong?" Xevach asked, noticing Kinaia's eyes look him from head to toe. Xevach followed her eyes downward. His sight quickly shot back upwards; Kinaia was gone. "How the hell-"

"Hurry up and go to sleep!" He heard Kinaia's voice come from outside the window.

"A second exit?" Xevach wondered. He then heard water splashing and figured that Kinaia hadn't had time to get herself ready for bed since she had to prepare her home for her unexpected guest. '(No one told her to stop me when I was trying to go home.)' Xevach's thought eliminated any traces of guilt he would have had as he removed his foot bindings and stepped onto the mat. "That's nice." He remarked quietly, lamenting the feeling of the mat on his bare feet and moved the pillow to one side of the mat. He then glanced at Kinaia's bed. With a disapproving look, he pushed the pillow to the opposite of the mat, so that it would be parallel with the foot of Kinaia's bed.

He laid down on the mat and felt the day's weariness fall upon him in one giant wave. He yawned, and drifted off to sleep with no effort…

Sometime later, Kinaia cautiously came in through the second exit of her home. She had a bit of a smile on her face; the 'second exit' was really just a loose tarp that hung over the broken fragments of the wall she had yet to fix. How that hole in the wall came to be there? Kinaia's smile waned a bit. '(That's what I get for not paying attention to the right amounts of gunpowder and fire herbs to make a Large Barrel bomb.)' She could hear Xevach's breathing alternating from light to heavy. '(He breathes weird.)' Kinaia then halted herself; what if he was only pretending to be asleep, like on the return trip to Pokke?

"…more food…" she heard him grumble. Although she hardly knew him, Kinaia knew sleep-talk when she heard it.

'(Incredible…)' Kinaia thought sarcastically as she slipped into her home. She made sure to avoid stepping on Xevach or the mat and slid into bed. _Creeeeak!_

Xevach shot up and immediately glanced at Kinaia's form huddled over her bed with the woolen, quilted blanket over one of her shoulders. "Oh…" He exhaled and laid back down. "It's just you." He spoke with a yawn.

"Just me?" Kinaia hissed in an upset whisper. She let it go, and wondered something. "Weren't you just asleep?"

"I'm a light sleeper." Xevach explained, sounding groggy.

"Apparently." Kinaia felt her heart calm down a bit from the shock-scare of Xevach springing up. "Go back to sleep."

"…Now I won't."

"What?" Kinaia asked, eyeing Xevach as she slipped her legs under the quilt. "Why not?"

"Just to spite you." Kinaia thought she heard a hint of humor in Xevach's voice. "Good night." She heard him rollover and in a few seconds, his odd breathing pattern resumed.

"What a weirdo…" She muttered.

"I heard that." Xevach's tired voice sounded far away.

"You pick the oddest times to have a sense of humor." She heard Xevach mumble something but it was illegible. After a few seconds, he left out a soft yawn and must have drifted off to sleep.

'(Was that… a name just now?)' Kinaia pondered the syllables he mumbled as she lied down. The thought faded as the comfort of her bed instantly claimed her.

* * *

Sunlight crept through Kinaia's window; the golden rays dancing upon her face put a hint of warmth on her cheeks. Slowly, her eyes opened and Kinaia let out a low growl. "Stupid sun…waking me up…" She rolled over in bed and shut her eyes again in a vain attempt to go back to sleep. Her eyes swiftly opened when she saw the Anteka mat and blanket was neatly folded up in the corner with the pillow neatly stacked on top.

"Xevach?" Kinaia asked, sitting up. She looked around, but he was nowhere to be found. She then sniffed and smelled something good coming from the Felyne Kitchen beyond her bedroom. She got out of bed and took a few steps towards the kitchen. "Is that…laughter?"

Kinaia poked her head into the kitchen. Behind the counter stood Xevach, flipping a gigantic rice ball with a smile – well, a significantly reduced frown - on his face. Beside him, standing atop the counter and stirring a huge pot, was Kinaia's Felyne Comrade Shiva. Shiva had silver-blue fur with black stripes down the side of her body. She currently wore a cook's coat and was exchanging words with Xevach.

"…rice balls aren't my specialty, but they're pretty easy to make, nya!" She sounded very happy as they exchanged what Kinaia assumed were cooking tips. "Plus, you can fill them with all sorts of tasty things, nya!"

"What is your specialty?" Xevach asked as he compacted more rice into the giant, triangular rice ball.

"Dairy," Shiva spoke with pride. "And fish! A cat's favorite things, nyaaaa~"

"Interesting." Xevach tossed the rice ball into the air, then caught it with one hand. "I usually just roast whatever I kill in the field."

"That's…" Shiva had a sweat drop hanging off her head just behind her drooping ear. "Nya-ice?"

"What's going on?" Kinaia's voice made Shiva jump.

"Gastronome!" Shiva greeted Kinaia with a huge grin.

"Astronaut?" Xevach put down the rice ball with a confused look on his face.

"It's someone who eats fish, nya~!" Shiva explained, not bothering to look at Xevach. Shiva hopped over the counter and ran on all fours towards Kinaia. She leaped into her owner's arms and hugged her tightly. "I knew you'd come back, nya!"

Kinaia laughed as Shiva licked her face. "Of course!" She snuggled Shiva against her chest. "I told you that Tigrex wouldn't take me out!" Kinaia almost didn't notice Xevach walk past her. "Xev…?"

"Breakfast is on the table." Xevach muttered with food in his hand. "Get dressed."

Kinaia glanced down past Shiva; her face heated up a bit when she realized that she was still in her slightly revealing night gown. "Xevach, you creep!"

"You invited me." Xevach spoke in a haughty manner through his usual monotone before closing the front door.

"I swear…" Kinaia huffed.

"Aw, he left, nya…" Shiva seemed totally unaware of the exchange between Xevach and Kinaia. "We were going to make a bean jelly and put it in the rice balls…"

Kinaia put Shiva down and looked after Xevach. "He can cook?"

"Mhm!" Shiva gestured to the table. "Nya, I helped him prepare the food, he's the one who did the heavy work!" Shiva then added, upon looking at Kinaia who was bending over; "Have you seen his arms, nya? Even heavy work is light to him." Shiva then looked Kinaia up and down. "Nya?! You were wearing THAT around a man?"

Kinaia covered her modesty. "It's the only clean one I had!" She explained herself, the sky-blue lace slipping off her shoulder. "You can't expect me to do laundry from the _mountains_!"

* * *

Xevach sat on a rock between a Felyne and a granny selling Felyne contracts. "This is symbolic somehow, I'm sure…" He muttered to himself as he bit into a grilled Knife Mackerel. "The fish got so tender after being cooked, it's not even sharp anymore." Xevach licked his lips. "That cat can cook."

Xevach suddenly looked up; he heard squeaky wooden wheels and a familiar sensation came over him. He leaned forward on the rock and trained his eyes toward the horizon.

"Looking for someone?" Kinaia's voice didn't catch Xevach off guard as he had heard her approaching. Xevach also heard Shiva beside Kinaia, chewing in glee. When Xevach did not give her an answer after a while, Kinaia then said "So you're keeping quiet again?"

Xevach glanced over at Kinaia; she wore a long, black blouse with blue pants that Xevach recognized as low tier armor. Kinaia noticed his eyes and glared at him. "Why don't you draw a picture; it'll last longer?" Xevach's eyes fell upon Shiva.

"Liking the rice ball?"

"When'd you make the jelly, nya?!" Shiva was amazed at the robust taste.

"I made a sample while you were cooking the rice." Xevach explained. "How is it?"

"Nyaaaaa~!" Shiva purred as she ate the rice ball. "Kinaia liked them, too!" Xevach looked to Kinaia who merely shrugged as if to say 'they weren't bad'. "She leaves the cooking to me because she's lay – Nyaa~!" Shiva whined when Kinaia tugged on her whiskers.

"You and your jokes." Kinaia laughed innocently as she let Shiva go. Kinaia peeked at Xevach; the male was standing upright, fish in hand, and staring forward. "Wheels?" Kinaia heard the noise just before the gate guards shouted to one another for confirmation.

"He's here." Xevach walked briskly towards Pokke Village's entrance. Kinaia and Shiva looked at one another before following behind him.

"Oh right," Kinaia then remembered what was going on. "Your Felyne Comrade was on his way here with your supplies."

"Nya?" Shiva looked up at Xevach. "Your Comrade traveled all the way here by itself?"

"Scorpion is a capable fighter." Xevach spoke plainly. "I have absolute trust in his skills."

"Scorpion?" Shiva repeated this strange cat's name. "Nyaaa…"

"What's wrong, Shiva?" Kinaia easily sensed that Shiva was uneasy.

"This will be the first Felyne Comrade that I've met, nya…"

"You've met tons of other Felynes." Kinaia then remembered the difference between a Felyne, and a Felyne Comrade. "But this is the first time that you're meeting a Felyne that's seen combat."

"Nay~" Shiva nodded nervously. "I wonder if… he'll think it's weird that I don't fight alongside you."

"That's crazy," Kinaia paused to console Shiva. She crouched low and placed a hand on Shiva's head. "You warmed up to Xevach just fine and he's weird!" Xevach looked over his shoulder at Kinaia but said nothing. "If you could get along with him, than you can get along with _anyone._" Shiva purred gently and smiled up at Kinaia.

"Then let's go meet him, nya~!" Shiva dropped down to all fours and took off in front of Xevach.

"Just as excitable as ever." Kinaia laughed. "It's good to be home…" She whispered to herself. Kinaia then turned her sights on Xevach. Xevach looked away from her swiftly when their eyes locked. "What?" Kinaia asked a bit defensively.

"You two seems close." Xevach spoke with his back to Kinaia.

"We are." Kinaia kept her words short.

"…" Xevach took a second to consider his next words. "You raised her, didn't you?"

"How…" Kinaia was caught off guard.

"Felyne Comrades that are hired tend to develop a connection with the hunters who hired them," Xevach turned to face Kinaia completely. "But I can sense a much stronger connection between you and Shiva. A family bond." Xevach gestured around him. "I can sense it in this whole village."

"That's…surprisingly deep for you." Kinaia was at a loss for words. To her, the strong sense of unity was the norm for her. Were things different for the hunter from a foreign land? What was his village like, or his family for that matter? Kinaia suddenly wondered something; '(Where did that come from?') She pondered these sudden questions that flowed into her mind. '(Why do I feel like I want to know more about him?)'

"It makes me sick…" Kinaia snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Xevach speak those words with such a malicious tone. He walked towards the village gate, leaving Kinaia looking after him.

"So you're Xevach's Felyne Comrade?" One of the gate guards asked.

"Nya," Scorpion replied hastily. "Is the boss back from looking for Kinaia?"

"As a matter of fact, they returned last night." The guard replied with a huge grin on his face.

"They?" Scorpion's face lit up. "He found her? She's alive?!" He jumped off the ground and clicked his rear paws. "Nya~! Kinaia's alive!" Scorpion landed on his four legs – and looked up to find a Felyne in a cook's coat in front of him.

Shiva stared at the black Felyne with red armor. "Are you-?"

"Scorpion." Shiva jumped at the sudden sound of Xevach's voice. "You're here."

"Hiya, boss, nya~!" Scorpion saluted to Xevach. Scorpion's face lit up when he caught the piece of fish Xevach threw to him. It was gone in an instant.

"I see you've met Shiva." Xevach motioned to the blue-silver cat who now looked up at Xevach. "She cooked that fish."

"Not at all, nya!" Scorpion responded with a smile. "I'm Scorpion, nya! Any friend of the boss' is a friend of mine!" Scorpion then added. "And anyone who can cook so well is a good friend, indeed!"

"Boss?" Shiva looked at Scorpion. "He's your boss?"

"He hired me, so yeah!" Scorpion explained. "But, nya, we've become closer-"

"Scorpion." Xevach butted in. "Let's head home." Xevach began walking past Scorpion, his sights on the cart with some of his equipment in it.

"Home?" Scorpion, Shiva and now Kinaia repeated.

"My mission is done." Xevach spoke curtly. "I'm no longer needed."

"…But I just got here, nya." Scorpion spoke dejectedly. "I'd like to meet the chief."

"You know how to get home." Xevach looked into the cart. "My Nargacuga gear." He looked at the weapon that lie beside his armor. "The Long Sword…" Xevach eyed the Nargacuga Long Sword that he took as a memento from that day.

"Your Gunlance is HEAVY!" Scorpion complained. "And the Long Sword is the only other Narga weapon you have-" Scorpion suddenly fell quiet. He looked up towards the sky, his hair standing on end and his whiskers twitching.

Shiva began to shiver beside Kinaia. Kinaia looked down with a worried look on her face. "It's here…" Shiva stammered in a frightened tone.

Xevach heard Shiva and looked away from the cart with his equipment and at Scorpion. "A wyvern…" Scorpion divined, sniffing the air.

At the foot of the village, Nekoht roused Granny from her midday nap. "Granny," he spoke urgently. "It's approaching."

"What kind of wyvern?" Xevach asked, although he had a powerful hunch.

"Tigrex." Scorpion's fur bristled as his paw gripped his Nargacuga shuriken. "It's approaching quickly. If we're lucky, it may just fly overhead."

Xevach placed the Long Sword on his back and stood beside Scorpion. "No; it's the wyvern that had Kinaia stuck in the mountains for three days." Scorpion gave Xevach a surprised look; Xevach knew he'd have to explain later. "We got out of there, but not before we injured it."

"It wants revenge…" Kinaia uttered before picking up Shiva and running towards her home.

"Kinaia!" Shiva shouted, watching Xevach and Scorpion get further and further away from over Kinaia's shoulder.

"Our top priority," Kinaia shouted, "Is making sure everyone is safe!"

"What about-"

"If he wants to go home, let him!" Kinaia answered swiftly as she pushed the door open hastily.

"Boss!" Scorpion called out to Xevach who watched Kinaia's door swing shut. Xevach looked up – the Tigrex fell from the sky and landed in the center of the village with an earth shaking thud. It stamped its forelegs onto the ground, the red veins under its scales glowed with rage, and unleased an explosive howl so powerful, not only were the sound waves _visible_, but the wooden buildings around it cracked and splintered.

"Boss!" Scorpion put a paw on the back of Xevach's left leg. "You need to put on your armor!"

"There's no time." Xevach countered.

"You're already injured," Scorpion eyed the bandages on Xevach's leg. "And we _both _know this isn't a foe you can fight recklessly." Xevach sucked his teeth but turned back towards the cart. "Nya, don't worry," Scorpion fell on all fours and took off towards the Tigrex. "I'll buy you time!"

The Tigrex sniffed around the village; there were a ton of heat sources and smells all around it; most of them were screaming and running away, but it didn't care. Since the previous moon, it had been unable to hunt or even travel properly because of the… thing in its left eye.

But with the loss of half of its vision, the Tigrex gained a heightened sense of smell.

Perhaps the connection between its lost eye and its increased sense of smell wasn't direct; maybe since the Tigrex wanted to exact revenge on the two who had done this to it, maybe because its rage would never be quelled until it chewed on their flimsy bodies, maybe because it wanted those two _dead, _it remembered their scents and tracked them all the way from the mountains.

A new scent; this was odd. It smelled like some of the other, smaller, creatures in the village with the two-legged screamers, but there was an undeniably…wyvern like scent about it. And it was getting closer. The Tigrex shifted its head to its left, trying to make up for its blind spot. There was something small and red coming towards it whereas everything else was running away.

Scorpion wasted no time, bobbing and weaving through the fleeing townsfolk. He leaped with precision onto a shop's display, then off of the door pavilion, and scrambled onto the roof of the shop. He approached the Tigrex from its left; he saw a Bone Sword jutting out of its skull and decided that would be his target.

"Ra-raowwww!" He yowled loudly as he leaped off of the roof. Scorpion tucked into a ball, unsheathing his Narga Shuriken and chucked it. The black, sun shaped blade flew along a curve; it cut the scales just under the Tigrex's left eye with deadly accuracy and continued to fly in an arc. The Tigrex, now engaged in battle, roared and turned its attention to Scorpion.

The Felyne Comrade caught his shuriken in mid-air and threw it a second time. He ran directly underneath it this time. The Tigrex shrieked, the shuriken hitting its bared teeth. The weapon bounced off of the extremely hard incisors and fell – only to be caught by Scorpion once more. The Tigrex angled its neck downward and shot its mouth out at the cat.

Scorpion soared clear over the wyvern's head and let out another meow as he brought down the shuriken as a melee weapon. It cut into the Tigrex's scales, but didn't go deep enough. Scorpion carefully landed on the shuriken, his deft paws between the blades, and jumped, capturing one of the blades between his feet. The Tigrex's head shot upwards and it snapped its teeth all too late. Scorpion, in a free fall, looked the Tigrex in the eye and curled up into a ball again. This time, Scorpion aimed for the right eye. The Tigrex shook its head, causing Scorpion to go off balance and hit its immensely hard skull instead.

Scorpion landed in front of the Tigrex on his hind legs, licking his right paw with his Nargacuga shuriken over his left shoulder. "Lucky, nya." Apparently upset by Scorpion's calm demeanor, the Tigrex dropped its right paw down on the red clad cat. Scorpion saw this coming, however, and executed a seamless backflip, avoiding the attack completely. Touching the ground for but a second, Scorpion then scurried up the Tigrex's arm. Its right eye on him, The Tigrex's tail began to sway back and forth.

"Watch out for the spin!" Xevach called from a distance, running towards the Tigrex. He now wore his Nargacuga armor, his look completed with the Nargacuga Long Sword. Scorpion took heed of his boss' words and sank his shuriken into the Tigrex's right arm. The wyvern, just as Xevach predicted, spun in place, destroying the shop stands and a few nearby carts. Thankfully, Granny and Bahr had been herding everyone inside so no one was hurt.

On the move again, Scorpion slid down the wyvern's shoulder and threw his shuriken at its face. There was a bright red stream of blood and an especially loud hissing sound and the Tigrex reeled back. Scorpion captured his Nargacuga Shuriken with a half smirk on his face, knowing the hit had done critical damage. Beneath Scorpion, Xevach took up a stance; Scorpion landed on Xevach's right arm, Xevach's palm open, and Xevach threw the Felyne at the wyvern,

"Nyaaa!" Scorpion held his shuriken forward as he flew towards the Tigrex like a missile. Below him, Xevach drew his sword and swung for the monster's exposed throat.

With absolutely no warning, the Tigrex's neck vibrated and a frantic, volatile reverberation escaped its mouth. Xevach was blown back from the force, as was Scorpion who was still in the air. With its assailants shaken, the Tigrex slammed its claws into the ground and opened it vicious jaws…

"Oh no you don't!" Kinaia's roar rivaled even the Tigrex as she soared from the top of the hill of Pokke Village. Xevach rolled and regained his composure and looked up; Scorpion sailed over Xevach's head and under Kinaia who was brandishing her Khezu Great Sword. Kinaia was glowing a vibrant red, as was the blade of her Great Sword. Xevach easily recognized that as the Great Sword's 'Charge' skill.

'(She's using that skill while in motion?)' Xevach quietly marveled as he watched the scene unfold. '(And in the air, no less…)' Kinaia landed blade first atop the Tigrex; its skull caved in in the middle, but shattered to pieces on the sides. The Tigrex fell from the massive blow as blood seeped from its ruptured cranium. Scorpion landed on his feet and sheathed his shuriken, running up to Xevach's side.

"Nya, did you see that?!" Scorpion cheered beside Xevach. "That huntress just saved our lives!" Kinaia, standing atop the unmoving Tigrex, turned around and looked around her village. "Blue hair. Green eyes. Giant, gray sword… _That's_ Kinaia, nya?!" Scorpion looked from Kinaia to Xevach. "Why'd she need saving, boss?"

"…" Xevach was silent as Kinaia continued to scan the village.

"Was anyone hurt?!" Kinaia called out from atop the massive wyvern. She spotted Xevach and Scorpion staring up at her. With one glance, she could tell they were alright. She then noticed Shiva, galloping towards the foreigners. "Shiva, how is everyone?"

"Everyone was able to get inside alright, nya!" Shiva confirmed. "And Granny is keeping everyone calm!" Shiva then looked to Scorpion. "This one, nya, kept the Tigrex busy for us."

"Nyaaa," Scorpion meowed sheepishly. "Just followin' my instincts." Scorpion looked up at Xevach. "It's what he would have done, too."

Xevach's eyes did not leave the Tigrex.

"Thank goodness." Kinaia sighed in relief, placing a hand over her heart. She felt something warm and looked down; there was Tigrex blood on her blue blouse.

"Nya?!" Shiva and Scorpion both shouted. "You attacked a Tigrex with no armor?!"

"…whoops?" Kinaia gave a light chuckle. "It all turned out for the best-" Xevach tore across the grass towards the Tigrex. Kinaia looked down at him curiously. It was then she heard the hollow hissing noise from beneath her feet.

The Tigrex was breathing. It was s_till alive_.

The Tigrex sprang up, flinging Kinaia off of its head. Xevach moved his hand from the hilt of his sword and caught Kinaia. Both hunters sprawled backwards on the grass as the Tigrex got to its feet. With another trademark mighty roar, the Tigrex planted its feet into the ground – then shot itself into the sky. In a sloppy display of flight, the Tigrex tried to steady itself in the air as it flapped its wings. Both Xevach and Kinaia were pushed back a bit from the sudden gust of wind, but Kinaia stepped forward swiftly and brought down her Great Sword.

The blade narrowly missed the tip of the Tigrex's tail and whipped back, striking Kinaia in the face like a whip. She staggered backward, being caught by Xevach once more. She used his body as leverage and tried to move towards the Tigrex twisting in the air once more, but felt Xevach's hand gripping her shoulder.

"Let me go!" She roared, half out of anger, half to be heard over the Tigrex. "It's getting away!"

"You can't reach it." Xevach spoke, dropping his Nargacuga Longsword onto the ground.

"I have to try!" Kinaia hefted her Great Sword to her chest. "So let go or else-"

"I can throw you." Xevach spoke, removing his gauntlets.

"Wha-?" Kinaia was baffled but her attention on the Tigrex was not split.

"Get yourself onto my shoulders," Xevach crouched beside Kinaia. "Or it'll get away."

With an anxious grunt, Kinaia tentatively stepped on Xevach's knees and balanced herself on his shoulders. "The bastard is starting to get steady!" Kinaia wobbled a bit, finding the footing awkward and the weight of her Great Sword did not help. She bent her knees and placed a hand on Xevach's helm for balance.

"Jump on my mark…" Xevach took a strained step with his left leg, and arched his hands over his head. He placed his hands on Kinaia's backside and screamed: "Jump!"

"Watch your ha-aaah!" Kinaia felt her body go weightless as she soared towards the wyvern. She lifted her blade over her head, its point forward. Her Khezu Shock Sword sank into the back of the wyvern, the Tigrex letting out a shrill roar as the two bodies came back down to the earth. The Tigrex's body caused the ground to shake. The surrounding area was ripped apart as it writhed, trying to get the large object out of its back. Soon, the green and white ground of Pokke village was stained red with the blood of the Tigrex… and the monster would hunt no longer.

Kinaia, her breath haggard, knuckles white and hands void of feeling, and blood dripping from the wound on her face rolled off of the now motionless body of the Tigrex. Her great sword remained sheathed in its tough hide, testament to her victory. She lay beside the dead beast, panting, as the adrenaline still coursed through her veins.

Footsteps. Tons of footsteps. Heavy footsteps, loud footsteps, slow…

The people of Pokke Village. _Her _people. They were cautious steps, approaching the carcass of the beast that had them terrified for months on end. The menace that had destroyed their livestock, disrupted their trade and once kept their huntress, their darling little girl, away from them.

Kinaia heard the distinct sound of three 'footsteps'; her Grandmother hobbling towards her as fast as the old bones would carry her. Kinaia exhaled deeply and sat up just as Granny reached her.

"Are you hurt, deary?" Kinaia gave a small chuckle and a shake of her head. "Oh thank heavens…" Granny placed her hand on Kinaia's cheek. "You'll be pleased to know that everyone in the village is completely safe." Granny gestured to the people who now stood behind, as well as those who were staring at the Tigrex from a safe distance. "You did it, granddaughter." Kinaia took her grandmother's hand in her own and gave her a smile. She felt her eyes sting a bit, the feeling of relief finally taking place of the anxiety she'd felt for so long.

But what was she forgetting?

"Gastronome!" Shiva trotted between the standing people and made her way to Kinaia. She jumped into her lap and hugged Kinaia tightly. "You went after the Tigrex without armor again!" Shiva sounded both distraught and relieved. "You… you could have been hurt!"

"I'm fine…" Kinaia pet her Felyne Chef's head tenderly. "We're all fine now…" Kinaia looked up to see Nekoht now standing beside Granny, giving her a small smile and a nod. Kinaia grinned back at the cat, standing up with Shiva in her arms. "We don't have to be afraid of the Tigrex anymore." Kinaia felt her pride swell up a bit and she continued on with reverie "We won't have to be afraid of anything every again!"

The people of Pokke village's eyes left the Tigrex and fell upon Kinaia. "I… I couldn't slay the Tigrex…' Kinaia felt a lump in her throat as she uttered those words. She paused… remembering the dread she felt just yesterday as she prepared to leave the ice cave and return home. "I was in the mountains for three days; the roars of the Tigrex echoed day in and fay out. The cold sank beneath the skin and settled into my bones. My heart…" She sighed, shivering as she recalled how she had felt. "My heart wouldn't stop racing for a second…"

Her people were quiet, listening to their huntress speak. It would seem that even the winds would not interrupt her.

"But today… the Tigrex lies here, in the middle of our home. Dead." Kinaia paused so that her words could sink in. "DEAD." She pointed to the lifeless body for emphasis.

"She did it!" A voice boomed out from the crowd. It was Bahr's; the mentor made his way through the crowd and approached Kinaia. "Kinaia has slain the Tigrex saved our village and avenged all those who have fallen to its terrifying power!"

The crowd let out an enormous cheer that rang through the village chanting Kinaia's name and speaking her praises, Kinaia, however, placed Shiva down and raised her hands to ask for silence, "I didn't face the Tigrex alone…" Kinaia looked around the village, eyeing every person individually with an enormous grin on her face. On the outskirts of the crowd, Scorpion licked the back of his paw and preened his whiskers.

"I had the help of all of you." Kinaia spoke with happiness. "Boris made the weapon that slew the Tigrex," The blacksmith gave Kinaia a small wave, respectfully dismissing the credit she gave him. "It was the Wyverian station that keeps their eyes on wyverns twenty four seven…" Kinaia continued down a long list of names of those that aided her to get to the point she stood now. Scorpion patiently waited to hear Xevach's name be called.

"But most importantly…" Kinaia turned to face her grandmother and knelt before her. "Our village chief… my grandmother, is the one who spends her days ensuring that our lives and our traditions stay strong…" Scorpion cocked his head; he wasn't expecting _his _name to be mentioned, but why not the Boss's?

"Boss?" Scorpion then realized that Xevach was nowhere to be seen. He crouched low on the ground and sniffed. He easily picked up his boss's scent and followed it towards the gates of Pokke village.

"And it's together," Kinaia wrapped up her speech. That we will meet, and conquer, our problems for now and forever." Once again the crowd cheered and Kinaia did not interrupt. Instead, she shouted at the top of her lungs: "So let's mount this Tigrex's head up on the gates!" The village's roars increased tenfold and hands moved to the wyvern's remains. Kinaia made a move to follow, but stopped when she felt her grandmother's cane on her arm.

"Yes, Granny?" Kinaia asked, a tad too excited for the mounting process she had recommended.

"I do believe that you neglected to thank someone in that speech of yours."

Kinaia gave Granny a lost look before tapping her chin and thinking. "I don't think so."

"You spoke very proudly of those who prepared you to face the Tigrex…" Granny gestured towards the area where the crowd was disbanding. "But what of the lone individual who aided you in _escaping _from the…" She trailed off once the crowd dispersed and Xevach was nowhere to be seen. "Oh…" Granny visibly frowned, already knowing the course of action Xevach had taken and why.

"Oh!" Kinaia felt her face heat up. "I can't believe I forgot to thank those two for buying us time to get everyone out of harm's way." She looked around but saw no trace of them. "Granny…"

"Go." Granny smiled, patting Kinaia's hand. Kinaia tore off across the village and beyond the gates. Granny's smile faded the moment Kinaia's back was to her. Somberly, Granny sank her head and walked towards her usual spot with Nekoht beside her.

Kinaia reached the base of the village hill and saw that the two Yukumo wagons, the one Xevach rode into Pokke and the one Scorpion had arrived in, were gone. "Judging by these tracks…" She looked at the settled mud. "They left not too long after-" She noticed that one cart had left much more recently than another. And judging by the size of the tracks and number of Gagua tracks, the wagon that departed first carried either a couple people, or a single person large enough to count as one person.

"Xevach…" She murmured his name, now feeling a bit guilty for completely excluding the foreign hunter in her thank you speech…

* * *

"Xevach…" Kamine, the village chief of Yukumo Village sat in her usual spot as Xevach maintained his equipment after returning from a quest. "It's been a month since you rescued Little Granny's daughter, Kinaia." Xevach, polishing the shield to his Zinogre Gunlance, made no signs of acknowledgement. "You should go and visit them!" Xevach exhaled on the surface of the shield before rubbing the spot with a cloth. Kamine sighed, then tried a different approach.

"Your actions serve as an excellent first step to open relations between Yukumo and Pokke village." After a beat she added: "You said it yourself; Pokke Quartz is pretty rare and catches a fair price." Xevach attached the shield to his left arm and admired it for a moment. Kamine pouted before snarling: "You _do _know that I just came from a Village Chief meeting last week and I spoke to Granny? She told me everything that happened and how _you _just vanished."

She gauged Xevach for a reaction, and after not getting one, finished with. "You're just a big ol' chicken!" Xevach seemed to pause for a moment, his grip slackening on the Gunlance for but a second, before lifting it up and wiping the blade. "You plan on never seeing Pokke village, or any of its inhabitants ever again, don't you?" Xevach continued meticulously working on his Gunlance, seemingly unaware of Kamine's words.

"…" Kamine stood up from her seat and walked over to Xevach. A few of the people in Yukumo village enjoying the beautiful day seemed taken aback to see her on her feet. "Xevach!" She addressed him directly. Xevach tilted his head in her direction, but kept his focus on his weapon. "You will give me your full and undivided attention when I speak to you, young man!" Xevach let out a huff as he sheathed his Gunlance and stood to face his Village Chief. He towered over her, his armor made of Azure Rathalos glistening brilliantly in the sun.

"Yes?" He asked, his voice even duller than its usual monotone. "How may I be of assistance to you, Village Chief?"

Kamine pursed her lips. "Your attitude is disrespectful to me, both as your Chief and as your guardian and caretaker." Xevach, the helmet to his armor under his right arm, merely blinked. Kamine huffed before saying. "You need to go back there."

"Is this another personal request?" Xevach interrupted. "If so, I will have to decline due to the high population of large monsters in the surrounding area of Yukumo Village." Kamine narrowed her eyes at Xevach as he continued. "I cannot leave my village when there is a prominent threat to its safety."

"You…" Kamine grumbled but did not falter. "On the day of your return, all you merely stated was 'Mission Accomplished' and never told me anything about what happened. I only heard of what happened from Scorpion's point of view, and a majority of it from Granny!"

"Then you know the entire story." Xevach concluded. "This conversation is thus, pointless."

"Point…" Kamine scoffed. "Pointless?! You, Xevach, have been extremely more edgy since you returned." Kamine leaned forward and poked Xevach's chest. "And for _you,_ that's saying something."

"Have I?" Xevach asked in an arguably mocking tone. "I haven't noticed."

"Is it because…" Kamine lowered her voice and stared Xevach directly in the eyes. "She never thanked you for your help?"

"Not being thanked for my services seems to be an unspoken rule." Xevach spoke with a dim acid in his tone. "You, of all people, should know that."

Kamine wrinkled her nose in frustration. "This one time could have been the straw that broke the Popo's back."

"I'm stronger than a Popo." Xevach replied rather bluntly.

"Xevach…" Kamine spoke his name with a voice of surrender. She sat back down and patted the seat beside her. Xevach looked away for a moment, seemingly to think something over, then slowly sat beside Kamine, cautious of his armor's spikes and edges and the seat. "Please… tell me what's on your mind."

"I wonder if Nyan-san, Xena and Yuie are faring well going after a Rathian without Scorpion." Xevach began. "I'm curious to know if the armor smith has enough time to forge a few decorations for me before I head out again. I'm curious to know what has all of these large monsters-"

"Xevach." Kamine cut him off. "I was referring to the events that transpired a month ago and you know that."

"…" Xevach merely gave a shrug. "The past is the past. I'm glad that Pokke Village has there Huntress and one less Tigrex to worry about. As you said, you spoke with Granny last week, so I can assume nothing else has been ailing them." Xevach looked directly into Kamine's eyes and spoke with authority. "Had they needed help, you would have sent me there once more. That much, I know for certain."

"Why…" Kamine sounded nervous. "Whatever do you mean?"

"You dealt a low blow previously to ensure that I would aid Pokke Village. And because it worked, and I know how you _really _are, you would have exploited it again had you felt the need."

"…" A cruel smirk formed on Kamine's lips. "Guilty as charged."

"And since nothing else is happening in Pokke that requires my services," Xevach indirectly referred to his status as a Hunter-Hunter, "You and Granny most likely have had discussions regarding myself and Kinaia – and neither of the parties in question have been informed of that discussion's topic."

"As perceptive as ever." Kamine stifled a laugh. "I see I've raised you well."

"And I have no intention of partaking in yours, or Granny – the Pokke Village Chief's," Xevach fought against the ease of referring to her as 'Granny'. "Illusions of grandeur."

"But Xevach," Kamine called out to the hunter as he stood and walked away from the Yukumo Village chief. "I always wanted to be a grandmother~!" Xevach stopped in his tracks. He turned around to fully face Kamine, then shook his head grimly at her. He then proceeded to return to his home.

"Ah…" Kamine sighed. "I tried, Granny. If he doesn't want to return to your Village then…" Kamine's face suddenly lit up. "Then…!"


End file.
